Lost Between Worlds (Part 3)
by pinkittwice54
Summary: I was lost and then I was found. But I knew I lost something of my own and now I have to find it. Or I'll die trying. A continuation of Lost Between Worlds Part 2 that can be found on my page.
1. The Avatar?

The landing on the other side was a little….um...tougher than I imagined. And by that I mean, I landed on a patch of ice and slipped right onto my butt. Of course I cried out in surprise and oh my oh my- unlucky me- I just had to attract the attention of the locals.

"I think the sound came from over here." A male's rang out. I gasped and looked for a place to hide out of habit but the portal was gone and a group of men came from around the snow bank. They looked well dressed for the snowy terrain and stared at me slack jawed when I came into their line of sight. I cringed and started to shiver from my lack of covering from the cold. "Can you please tell me where I am?"

"Who are you?!" One of the younger men yelled- pointing a spear in my direction.

"My name is Brittany." I sneezed right after. "I don't know where I am or where my parents are...please help me, I don't mean any harm." '_Please don't kill me on the spot spear guy!'_

"How old are you?"

"Ten...ten years old."

"We should take her to the chief- he'll know what to do." The second oldest man said. "What do you think Arroyo?"

"I think you're right." The oldest man turned to me. "Come- we shall help you and find out more about your circumstance."

I nodded and walked over to the men- hyper aware that I was at their mercy for the moment. The youngest of the group appeared to be a little older than my brother Adam would have been at this point in time. He looked at me weirdly and shifted his grasp on his spear. I stared back at him in a impromptu staring contest and smiled widely at my victory when he blinked. He pouted and looked away without saying anything.

I ignored the adults ahead of us as they talked (about me (they were not subtle)) and shifted my own body, trying to shut out the cold. "It's the hair, isn't it?"

"What?" The boy turned to me and the strange look came back.

"The strange look you're giving me...it's because of my hair, isn't it?" I repeated. "I know it's not normal…"

"But why is it like that?" He asked.

I sneezed. "I don't know… I was born with pink hair...what am I supposed to say?"

"Are you what caused that weird light?" The boy started to undo his jacket much to my confusion.

"Wh-what li-light?" My teeth started chattering. "I mi-might b-be bu-ut I'm not sure."

"Well-" He placed his jacket over my shoulders- albeit begrudgingly. "-you are currently in the territory of the Northern WaterTribe, to answer your earlier question. I suggest you don't freeze to death before we reach the chief."

I instantly shoved my hands through the arm holes and hugged myself- absorbing the boy's leftover body heat. "Thank you."

I didn't receive a reply after that and we all walked in silence until we reached the biggest wall I've ever seen. I physically felt my jaw drop at it all. "Is this wall of ice?"

I could hear their chuckles and was amazed when with a single wave of the leader arm- an opening moved from the wall and we went through. "How did you do that?"

"Have you never seen a waterbender before?"

"Uhhh...nooo?" I looked down in shame- the ninja's didn't have anyone that moved water like that. "What exactly-"

"Halt!"

I stopped mid-sentence and waited for the adults to leave. I had lost courage to speak up again and simply absorbed the heat of the borrowed coat gave me. No one had made an open comment after my hair even after I addressed it. I was pulled forward and forced into an audience with who I assumed was the chief. He was tall and appeared almost menacing but I saw a young girl by his side that had the most beautiful white hair and pale grey eyes.

Before anyone could make any sort of introduction or anything, the door burst open with more guards which yeled. "The Avatar is here!"

I was quickly forgotten about while the kids that followed made their introductions. There were three boys and a girl in the group and a fuzzy little animal on top of one of their shoulders.

The smallest stepped forward- he was bald with blue arrows marking his skin. "My name is Aang- I am the Avatar. I apologize for the lack of tact we had in arriving to your nation. My friend's are named Sokka, Katara and Brenan."

The friends each stood a little straighter as he called them up- what completely caught my attention was the boy called Brenan. He- he was the boy from the mirror!

He had to be!

Sure it was about a year ago but there was no other explanation! We practically wore the same clothes- he had the dark pants, the teal shirt (under a coat) and same black shoes! What once again caught my attention was his hair. The same hot pink as mine was- I couldn't help but stare in shock. "Brenan?"

When I called his attention he too started staring at me, also in total shock. I waited on a baited breath as his eyes raked my body- taking in my form and presence. "Brittany?"

"Are you two familiar with each other?" The chief looked between us. The friends of Brenan looked confused and stared slack jawed in the silence that followed. I was terrified.

"She's my sister." He cut through the silence. "We were uh...seperated a while ago...I had no idea if I would ever see her again." He then ran up to me and whispered in my ear. "Play along…"

I nodded and hugged him back tightly. "I wa so scared- I had no idea what happened to you! I thought you were dead!"

"She was dropped into our territory by a beam of light-"

"That happens-" I cut him off, holding onto Brenan tightly. "-our people have ways to travel large distances in a relatively short time...I didn't mean any harm….I was looking for my family…." '_Not a lie...I'm not lying…'_

I saw Brenan nod from the corner of my eye. The chief frowned but turned his attention to the other three kids. So, the information that I was in the Northern Water Tribe finally sunk into my head when I heard that Sokka and Katara were from the Southern Water Tribe. In the honor of their arrival (Aang's arrival)- the chief proposed a feast with us all invited.

Even though they didn't seem to completely buy our story- they had no evidence to tear it down, so I was left off of the hook. I was so glad that I looked like my doppelganger.

The feast was held after the sun went down- while people prepared the food continuously for amount of people. I was at next to Brenan who sat near the top thanks to him being friends with the Avatar and the Southern Tribe members.

"Tonight-" Begane the chief. "- we warmly welcome our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe and they have brought with them a someone very special. Someone whom many of us believed disappeared from the world until now. The Avatar! We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday, Princess Yue- it now of marrying age!"

It was same girl from before!

"Thank you father- may the great ocean and moon spirit watch over us in these troubled times." She said.

"Now master Paku and his students will perform!" The chief redirected out attention.

I stayed mostly silent and close to Brenan as possible- he seemed to know what he was doing. But I still felt the need to talk to him. "Thanks for my skin back there."

"I have a lot of questions to ask you, you know."

"Agreed." I nodded and watched the men move the water with their arms. "Can you do that though? I kind of can but I'm not very good at it- not as good as they are anyway."

"No I can move air- like Aang- although...he's the last person on this planet that can do so." Brenan frowned.

I blinked. "What happened to the rest?"

"Killed- this world has been in a war for over one hundred years." Brenan sighed. "What did you mean earlier by looking for your family though- we're not actually related- you know?" He whispered.

I gasped and reached under my shirt- pulling out my tag. "I was adopted in my family- they found this on me when I was a baby- so I'm looking to where this came from and maybe find my real parents that way."

"Oh.." Brenan looked away. "I was adopted so- my older sister Skyler...well her real name's Adrianne but some people call her that...she kicked me out so I'm with these guys now."

"I have an older brother- his name is Adam but some people call him Aky...like your sister. I ran away though...I wasn't kicked out." I poked at the food in front of me. "Maybe we're more alike than we thought? How old are you?"

"Ten. You?"

"Same...do you know any ninja's?" I took a bit of what looked like meat.

"What? No- are you a ninja?" Brenan copied my movements. I nodded enthusiastically. "Sure you are~"

"I am!"

"What are you two talking about?" Katara looked at us amused."We're catching up." Brenan told her, without missing a beat. "I haven't seen her in so long… you know...Katara….I miss home."

I put a hand on his shoulder- I knew the feeling. While I had friends to distract me- I got homesick occasionally as well. Kaatar smiled sadly. "Well- how about you join us uh...sorry- what was your name again?"

"Brittany...my name is Brittany." I smiled.

"Well you can always join us...family should stick together and we wouldn't want to keep you two apart any longer."

"Yeah!" Aang looked over at me. "The more the merrier! But why didn't you tell us about her before Brenan?"

"I…" Brenan fell silent- I think he was trying to dig his way out of this hole we both created.

"It's ok...I didn't think you survived either Brenan." I came to his rescue, hugging his arm to sell my point. "I haven't really talked about it either with anyone I know."

It was vague and non-descriptive but in a war torn world, I thought it would have worked just enough to they would have stopped asking questions.

It worked.

No one at the table said anything else- afraid of the non-existent touchy subject and so the feast ended. By the time we were ready to go to sleep, we were escorted to our respective room in the palace and rested for the night.

The next day- Brenan and I talked the entire morning about our separate lives and developed a story in case anyone else asked. We would be twins but never admit who was the eldest. We had a similar past scar wise (except he only recently left him home where as I was already chilling with the ninjas). He was prince of Minecraftia where he came from but his parents deemed him the heir to the throne despite being the younger one. This angered his sister which lead to multiple assassination attempts but no one even though that she would be behind it- she appeared to be so nice to her little brother. Brenan eventually had enough and ran for his life- leaving the only home he had ever known behind.

Using a portal, he jumped here and met the other three who (although questioned his hair constantly) accepted him and allowed him to be a part of their journey to help the Avatar to end the war. I knew that to keep out lie up- I had unwillingly joined but I didn't seem to be able to complain. If another world needed saving- my own goals could wait- besides- maybe my real parents could be here. I can waterbend and earthbend as Brenan called it!

Brenan could also manipulate fire but it wasn't a very strong flame- apparently the Fire Nation left a bad taste in everyone's mouth so he kept it hidden. I was saddened by this- the late king dealt with the Fire Nation and I had been friends with the Prince- who now seemed to be chasing them to capture Aang. I did not voice my past with the prince nor the Fire Nation.

It was a learning day for me really- my head was reeling from all the new information I had to store. Even with this new information, it didn't take me and Brenan long very long to put together the possibility that we could be each other but from parallel dimensions.

Brenan then gave me his coat when he saw me shivering after a while, claiming that he could just warm himself up. I didn't argue with his logic.

I also spent the day getting accustomed to Appa and Momo and vice versa. Momo was absolutely precious being the flying lemur he was - curious about my entire being and looking through my hair as if it was hiding something. Appa was Aang's flying bison- who had the cutest face and eyes and I actually squealed when I met him. He was as soft as he looked and after I petted him for awhile, I was granted a giant kiss from the gentle beast.

"He likes you." Brenan laughed at my slightly disgusted face. I moved my now wet hair out of my face and smiled a bit. "I'm glad then."

I moved my attention to Momo for a bit as I asked my next question. "How old is Aang?"

"He's twelve… not counting the one hundred he's been frozen." Brenan shrugged. "Katara's fourteen I think… Sokka might be fifteen. I'm actually not really sure."

"Oh." I tilted my head. "Not much of age gap like my last group of friends."

Brenan then threw Appa a cabbage like vegetable as he sat on a nearby ice shelf. "What were they like?"

"They were all really nice and **loud** -a bit show offy sometimes but they were all teenagers." I shrugged. "One of them was a robot!"

"What?! Really?"

"Uh- huh!" I grinned but it promptly fell from my face as I remembered the recent events. "But he uh...sacrificed himself for his world. His name was Zane- he controlled the element of ice."

"So he was also a bender?"

"Not really...it was just ice and my friends were the only ones in their world that could do stuff like that….you know, master the elements." I ran a hand through my hair. "It's kinda hard to explain."

"No- don't bother. It was just a question." Brenan waved off my response. "You know I didn't think it would be this easy but I feel like I've known you for a while now even if I just met you yesterday."

"You're not so bad yourself." I winked. "Where are the others anyway?"

"Aang and Katara went to talk to that master and Sokka… I don't really know." Brenan shrugged. "Wanna explore more of this place?"

"Sure!" I followed his lead and left the animals behind. The day ended sooner than either of us could anticipated and we ended up coming to our shared room when it was already dark.

"I don't get it! One minute she wants to go out with me and the next she tells me to get lost!" Sokka pouted from his place on the floor.

I wordlessly sat down by the wall, away from the four of them and just watched their interactions. Sokka sighed. "Hey Brenan...how's waterbending training going?"

"Master Poophead won't train her because he's a girl." Aang waved to Brenan as he replied. Katara simply flopped on her own sleeping bag.

After a short period of silence Sokka turned to Aang and said. "Why don't you teach her?"

"Why didn't think of that?!" Katara shot up from her spot. "At night you can teach me whatever moves you learn from Master Paku! That way you have someone to practice it and I get to learn waterbending! Everyone's happy!"

"I'm not happy!" Sokka pouted.

"But you're never happy."

"Do you think you could help Brittany too?" Brenan spoke up. "She hasn't had any one to teach her either."

My eyes widened like a deer in headlights when all their attention turned to me. Katara's smiled widened. "You can waterbend too!? Aang's been showing Brenan how to airbend so that just works out for everyone!"

"Except for me!" Sokka whined.

AAng rolled his eyes. "You're not a bender Soka."

"Let's go Aang! Come on Brittany!" Katara called us.

I faked a yawn and stretch. "I would love to but maybe not tonight. Brenan's been telling me a lot of stuff that I've missed out on and I don't think my brain can take anymore."

"Alright then." She nodded. "We'll be right back."

Once the two of them were out- Sokka looked at me and looked back at Brenan. "You can take her sleeping bag if you want- I don't really care about it."

I blinked and looked between the two boys. "I'll… be ok. Brenan gave me his coat… I shouldn't be cold."

He shrugged. "Have it your way."

Brenan followed suit and helped me move some of the fodder on the floor to make it comfortable. "I don't know about you but I'm actually really tired.

I nodded in agreement and soon found myself meaning it the longer I laid down. Within no time my eyes closed and I found myself having my first peaceful peaceful sleep in a long time.

By the time morning broke out- Aang, Sokka and Katara were gone. Brenan seemed to be more relaxed about the idea than I was. '_It must be a regular occurrence then…'_ We made our way out of the room and while I suggest breakfast, Brenan leaped into the air and gained such height that there was no way it was from a leaping potion potion. When he came back down- he caught himself on a ball of ar and landed calmly. He smiled, took my hand and simply said. "Found them."

I was so shocked that I merely followed his lead (after I picked my jaw off of the floor) though the ice mace that was the Northern Water Tribe. We both stopped by the front of the main hall where the people took me for questioning when I first arrived. A small crowd had gathered to watch the fight between the old man and Katara. She tried to keep her head up and almost appeared to be toe to toe with the man but I had the feeling he was holding back a little. Still the energy of the crowd moved me and I found myself cheering with them- siding with my new friend.

Katara charged at the man but he launched a massive wave against the girl that eventually pushed her back to the stairs we were on. I gasped. "Come on Kataara! You can do it!"

To this day- I don't know if she ever heard me but she stood up and made the bearvy "statues" fall on the man who then turned them to snow avoiding injury. "So- I'm impressed." Said Master Paku. "You are an excellent waterbender."

"But you still won't teach me- will you?" She challenged.

"No."

The two of them then continued to change the form of the others attack and I could feel myself becoming more and more amazed. "I want to learn to do that..."

Eventually though- the old man knocked Katara off of her feet and trapped her in a cage of ice spikes. "This fight is over!"

"No it's not!" She yelled. "Get back here- I'm not finished yet!"

"Yes you are." The old man started to walk away but he picked up something from the ground- saying something I couldn't hear.

"No it's not- it's mine!" Katara yelled. "Give it back!"

"I made it sixty years ago." He said. "For the love of my life...for Kanna."

I took the opportunity to discreetly melt the ice around Katara so that she could be free. The crowd started to move away and return to their business as the chief and his daughter joined the fray.

The old man continued to study the necklace as he explained his story. "I made this necklace for your grandmother sixty years ago when we were engaged. I thought we would have a long happy life together- I loved her…"

"But she didn't love you- did she? It was an arranged marriage." Katara spoke. "Gran Gran wouldn't let your tribe's stupid customs run her life. That's why she left! It must have taken a lot of courage."

Yue suddenly started crying and ran away from the scene. With some encouragement from Aang and Brenan- Sokka ran after the girl. After some more discussions between the chief, Master Paku, and Katara- it was agreed that he will teach her. I stayed silent- hoping to merely watch from the side lines but instead of Brenan (who's already stuck his neck out for me) it was Aang who insisted that I learn among them.

Personally, I thought that it would be pushing too many buttons and could very well retract any teaching for Aang and Katara if it went too far. But apparently Brenan was on a similar wavelength already and his argument was that they traveled alone and already had to fight a some people on their way here. The more people that could fight- the better.

I wanted to learn so I selfishly didn't mention any sword or archery training. It was that very argument that go me in- I owe a lot to Brenan. That was how I got an actual teacher to show me how to use my gift...one of them anyway.

For the next two weeks- I learned how to use many of the movements I adcustomed myself to use in privet next to very talented benders. Katara started rising to the top of the class- taking down any other boy who challenged her. I would like to say that I was the same but I wasn't, however I was able to hold my own against the other students as well so I wasn't exactly struggling with the new concepts.

Aang...took some time getting used to the idea of working hard to learn. I figured, I would never have the opportunity again while this was all Katara fought for. He was just a kid though (even if he was older than me) so I don't blame him. But at the time, I couldn't understand why he did...well what he did.

On one of the latter days, we got news that the Fire Nation was planning an attack and the chief called the most abled people to attend a gathering where fighters would be recruited to defend their home. Sokka was the first to stand up to fight with the men. One by one the men stood up and after a few hours we all found ourselves on the outer wall- waiting for the first sign of an attack.

Suddenly- the wall was blasted by a fireball- breaking the defenses of the Northern Water Tribe. More and more fireballs followed and Katara and I had to waterbend ourselves out of the snow that crumbled on top of us.

The main waterbenders then took it upon themselves to infiltrate the infomming navy. As the sun lowered in the sky and night drew near- the navy stopped their attacks.

I stayed close to Katara and Yue throughout the time, not entirely sure what to do. Brenan took a ride with Aang to collectively use their airbending to their advantage. When the two of them returned- they both look disheartened.

"I can't do it!" Aang held his head in his hands. "There's too many of them- I don't know how many we took out."

"I lost track after two dozen." Brenan sighed. "We can't fight them all."

"But you have too…" Yue said. "You're the Avatar."

"We're just kids." He sighed.

Katara and I comforted the boys and waited for anyone really to come up with new ideas before the sun came up again. Yue took us up on one of the inner walls and told us about waterbending and her culture.

"Legend says that the moon was the first waterbender. The people saw it pulling the tides and learned how to do it themselves."

"I've always noticed my waterbending was stronger at night." Katara mused.

Yue continued- not taking her eyes off of the orb in the sky. "Our strength come from the spirit of the moon. Our life comes from the spirit of the ocean- they work together to keep balance."

"The spirits!" Aang sprang to life. "Maybe I can find them and get their help!"

"How can you do that?" Yue asked my unvoiced question.

Katara smiled. "The Avatar is the bridge between our world and the spirit world. Aang can talk to them!"

I looked at Brenan and crossed my arms because. "You didn't tell me this because….?"

"I honestly didn't think about it." He nervously chuckled and scratched behind his neck.

"The only problem is- last time you got into the spirit world by accident." Katara cut our conversation short. "How are you gonna get there this time?"

"I have an idea." Yue spoke up. "Follow me."

Brenan shrugged when I turned to him and together we followed the princess through the water tribe. After being led to the back of the palace- Yue claimed it was the most spiritual place in the north pole. One by one we all climbed through the small wooden door and stood still- marveling at the oasis on the other side. Aang laughed and launched himself forward saying. "I never thought I would miss grass this much!"

"It's so warm!" Katara and I said at the same time. "How is that possible?"

"It's the center of all spiritual energy in our land." Yue explained.

"You're right Yue… I can feel something…" Aang sat down. "It's so tranquil."

Soon he closed his eyes and placed his fists together. I turned to Brenan to ask when he was doing but he beat me to it. "He's meditating Brittany- he was raised by monks so he does it fairly frequently."

I nodded in acknowledgement and petted Momo who took refuge on Brenan's shoulder from the stares of the older girls. Soon, Aang's body tattoos started to glow. I grabbed onto Brenan when I saw his eyes though. The reminded me a certain somebody from my own princess days. "What's happening?"

"He's crossing into the spirit realm." Katara answered (although I don't know who asked the question- it could have been me or Yue honestly). "He'll be fine as long as we don't move his body. That's his way back to the physical world."

"We should get help!" Yue started to walk away.

"No." Katara shook her head. "He's my friend- I'm perfectly capable of protecting him."

"We're here to." Brenan smiled, putting a hand on Katara's shoulder when hers dropped. "BRittany and I aren't going to let anything happen to Aang."

"Well looks like you've grown up quite a lot." A new voice rang out.

"No!" Katara looked to the side.

There was a teenager who was practically bald except for the lone pony tail on his head. He was a massive scar on the left side of his face- covering his eyes entirely. I blinked. "Who are you?"

He merely looked at me but appeared to do a double take before focusing his attention on Katara- disregarding both Brenan and me. "Hand over the Avatar and I won't have to hurt you."

Yue took off running while the rest of us took on a defensive stance.

The boy attacked with various different fire moves while Katara blocked them with the water from the pond. Instinctively I took out my sword but quickly put it back to cover my tracks. I didn't think anyone noticed- they were too focused on the new commer. To make up for my blunder- I picked up some water from the nearby pool and covered my friend- as we fought together against the firebender. Katara managed to blast him back and as he was picking himself off of the ground- Brenan took the opportunity to blast him further away with his air. When he found himself back on land after a small pounce he said. "I see you've learned a new trick...made a new friend...but I didn't come this far to lose to you!"

In her anger, Katara froze the water up to his ankles, trapping him there while creating a globe of running water that encased him and froze it. I once again felt my jaw physically hit the ground. "You have to show me how to do that."

"Absolutely." She smirked.

"You peasant." The teen sneered. "You found a master- haven't you?"

He then proceeded to blast his way (quite literally) out of the ice orb and continuously fought Katara. Brenan came in and blew the fire away from Katara before creating a small tornado of sorts, spinning the teen into confusion...and right into my direction. In a panic- I did the one thing I could think of and spinjitzu-ed the teen back into the water and with Katara's help encased him in a glacier of sorts.

"How did you do that?" Brenan looked at me slack jawed. I blinked. "Do what?"

"The pink cyclone thing!" Brenan then ran a hand through his hair. "What was that?!"

"Spinjitzu." I tilted my head. "I learned it while we were apart." _There's the lie…?'_

"Can I do that?!"

"Maybe? Sensei Wu taught me but I don't know if I could teach someone else to do it." I scratched me heda.

"Well whatever that was- it might come in handy." Katara smiled.

Soon the sun broke over the horizon and it didn't take long for the firebender to melt his trap again and charged once more towards us. We weren't fully prepared to take his hit though and Katara went down at his first throw. "You rise with the moon, I rise with the sun."

Brenan then tried to block the boy from coming any closer but the teen simply threw him out of the way. I stood between him and Aang all by myself. I was frightened but I had to remind myself that I had survived worse and that this was something I was entirely capable of doing. I narrowed my eyebrows and retook a fighting stance. "You never answered my question from before- who are you?"

"I am Prince Zuko- and don't think that you're little tricks will stop me! Now get out of my way!" He growled.

I paused as the reality set in. "Zuko? What...happened to you? Do you remember me?"

"I don't have time for this!" He yelled. Zuko then charge towards me but I pushed him back with a water wave. "Why are you doing this?"

"You wouldn't understand! You're just a kid!"

"And you're just a teenager!" I yelled back- spinjitzu-ing him away. "Why?! Who hurt you?"

"I'm not the same person you knew Brittany." He sat, taking me aback. "And here I thought that- that boy was you! And yet here you are!"

"You can do better than this." I bit my lip. "You were my first real friend- I don't want to fight you!"

"Then don't." He frowned and calmly took a few steps forward...I should confidently instead. "I'm taking the Avatar and you won't stop me."

I was shocked.

The boy who stood in front of me was Prince Zuko?

My first friend...my now enemy...I didn't recognise him- how did he get that thing on his face? What happened to him? I had so many question at the moment.

Why did he want Aang? Why was he hurting Katara and Brenana for him and by extent me?

I winced as he stepped towards Aang. "Why are you doing this?"

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

Suddenly Brenan came in and flipped Zuko over my head and away from me, coming to stand by my side- blocking Zuko from getting to Aang. "Don't touch my sister!"

This surprised Zuko- his eyes widened but he threw more fire at us without any mercy. We tried our hardest to deflect his attacks and keep him back but in the end he blasted us into the frigid water- grabbing the Avatar on his way out. Appa came flying in with Yue and Sokka on his back. "What happened?"

Katara woke up and explained that we failed. I felt tears start to pool in my eyes. '_What happened indeed….I lost two friends if I truly think about it,'_

Brenan looked over, checking my face and exposed arms. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

I shook my head and hugged the boy, attempting to hide my tears. "Did he hurt you?"

"I'm sore from hitting the water but I'm otherwise fine." He hugged me back. It felt nice. "We'll talk about it later." He whispered. "I have some questions I want to ask."

Calmness gone!

"I can't believe I lost him." Katara fell on her knees.

Sokka attempted to comfort his sister saying "You guys did everything you could. And now we need to do everything we can to get him back. Zuko couldn't have gotten far- we'll find him! Aang's gonna be fine."

"Ok." Katara got up and climbed on top of Appa. Brenan went to follow the girl but stopped right before he hopped up. I didn't make any movements and simply looked at Momo as he climbed onto my shoulder. "I'll stay with Brittany." Brenan said. "We'll wait here in case Aang comes back."

"Yip-yip!" Sokka commanded and they took off into the sky.

As soon as they were out of earshot, Brenan turned to me and crossed his arms. "Mind explaining what just happened between you and Zuko? I've never seen him so hesitant to attack someone."

"That was him hesitating?" I looked at the ground in shame- hesitating myself to answer Brenan's proding.

"I'm waiting Brittany…"

"When I was still the princess of Minecraftia- and the king...my adoptive father was still living- he tried to for an alliance of sorts with the Fire Lord." I found myself unable to control to word vomit that spewed from my mouth in an attempt to explain why I had already met Zuko but was still worthy to the team. "I was like four- five, I had no idea what was happening here or why he was doing that but I wasn't allowed in the meeting when the king brought me and Sky along. With me being on the outside I was encouraged to play with the Fire Lord's own children. That's where I met Zuko- he was actually really nice back then and didn't have the scar on his face. He was my first friend but I can see his change now. I didn't know that this was what Prince Zuko looked like now and well...I planned on helping to stop the war- I don't want the past to stop me from doing the right thing."

"Ok- I get it." Brenan put his hands up. "You didn't say anything for similar reasons why I don't talk about my firebending. I won't say anything if you won't."

"Deal."

"They left two children on their own to stop me?" A new voice rang through. We both gasped and turned to the man. He had armour from the Fire Nation Navy. Brenan growled. "I know you! You're General Zao!"

I frowned and took a defensive stance. "Why are you here?!"

"I came to claim the moon and ocean spirits." He smirked. Brenan and I looked at each other in confusion. "What?"

With no warning the man pulled out a sack and grabbed the two koi fish from the pond. Once the two of them were in the bag, the sky turned dark and moon turned to blood. We both screamed ad attempted to stop the man from doing anything else and to return the koi to the pond but he pushed us both to the side harshly. Brenan landed on his back and was essentially still able to fight but I was tossed against one of the poles and promptly blacked out.

When I woke up, Brenan was shaking me and was they sky was still dark, I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. "What happened?"

"He killed the moon spirit." Brenan said as he helped me up. Aang and the rest of the gang had returned, accompanied by an elderly man who I have never seen before.

"All hope is lost…" Yue cried. "It's over."

"No it's not." Aang's voice changed and he started glowing again. He then started to walk into the pond much to Katara's dismay but the older man stopped her. He managed to stand in the middle of the pond for a while- somehow making it glow before sinking to the very bottom. From there- all the water around the oasis started to have some kind of glowing cracks without breaking its liquid form. From there all the water coagulated together and formed a giant fish like creature with glowing eyes and Aang in the middle. Aang then started to move the creature though the Water Tribe and towards the outer water.

The older man still held the fish in his hands but attempted to put it back into the water- in hopes of...something...anything to get it to move again. Katara sighed. "It's too late- it's dead."

The old man said nothing until he saw Yue. His eyes widened as he said. "You have been touched by the moon spirit, some of its life is in you."

"Yes- you're right." She looked down. "It gave me life...maybe I can give it back."

"No- you don't have to do that!" Sokka stood up and grabbed her hand.

Yue didn't turn around to look at him. "Sokka...it's my duty."

"I won't let you!" Sokka frowned. "Your father told me to protect you!"

"I have to do this." Was her reply as she finally stepped away from Sokka. When she reached the fish- Yue placed her hands over it and the koi started to glow. When the light diminished Yue fell over and would have fallen into the pond fs Sokka hadn't caught her. "She's gone…"

"Is the fish any better?" I asked, looking over the old man's shoulder.

Without warning, Yue vanished into thin air and the koi once again started to glow. The old man didn't miss a beat and placed the fish back into the pond where it could swim again. The pong once again began to glow and from out of that light, Yue's figure emerged, giving Sokka a kiss before vanishing once again. When she was truly gone- the moon appeared in all its glory and the balance was restored.

"I must go find my nephew." The old man stood up and proceeded to make his way out of here. "I hope you kids stay safe and keep to the right path."

It didn't take long for the sun to come up again and Katara, Sokka, Brenan and I also made our way out to the oasis to survey the damage done by the battle. When we reached the outer walls, Master Paku called Katara over, wishing to speak to her. Brenan and I stood by Aang, overlooking the ocean- not saying a word. When Katara joined us, she gave Aang a hug to which Momo joined and soon became a group hug between us all.

Aang smiled and looked at me through the sea of arms. "What do you say Brittany? Will you continue to be with us?"

"Yes."


	2. Traveling to Omashu

For a short while the gang decided to accompany Master Paku and the others on their trip to the Southern Water Tribe They were kind enough to take us with them till we reached the border of the arctic circle. Before we left though Mastre Paku gave Katara a small viel filled with with water from the oasis. He gave Aang waterbending scrolls to help him learn and simply wish the rest of us luck. We were told to fly to the Earth Kingdom, east of where we were currently stationed.

It was strange- being with this group.

I hadn't known them for even a month now and it was already as if we all grew up together. I suppose I also have to thank Brenan for that- he helped me fit in nicely. It was nice for them to know him first in my opinion- I didn't have to explain my hair all over again since it was accepted concept between the friends already.

That's not to say that the locals didn't give me any weird looks but I suppose that being friends with the Avatar meant that there wasn't room for rude questions.

It took a while to get to where we needed to go but after flying for a while we finally met with the Earth Kingdom General. "Welcome!" He said. "Avatar Aang! I am General Phong! And we welcome all of you great heros! Appa! Momo! Brave Sokka! The mighty Katara! Brenan the humble! And Brittany the kind!"

We all stood a little straighter as he proclaimed all our names- a cue to set off fireworks behind us. I felt my heart swell. I was really here- I was now really part of the group. That took significantly less time than with the ninjas!

"The might Katara? I kind of like that."

"Not bad, not bad!"

When the slight spectacle was over we were invited to talk with the general in the main room of the base. His story started like this. "Avatar Aang- we were all amazed to hear the story of how you single handedly took down an entire Fire Nation navy fleet at the North Pole. I can't imagine what it would feel like the wield such devastating power. It's an awesome responsibility."

"I try not to think about it too much." Said Aang.

"Avatar- you're ready to face the Fire Lord now." General Phong said, sending us all into shock.

"What?" Anag nearly stood up from it all. "No I'm not!"

Katara tilted her head in confusion. "Aang still has to master all four elements."

"Why? With the kind of power he possesses- enough power to destroy hundreds of battleships in a matter of minutes- he could defeat the Fire Lord no!" The general stood from his spot.

"But sir-" Brenan intervened. "-Aang can only do those things when he's in the Avatar State."

Aang sighed. "You see, it's this special state where-"

"I'm well aware." The general cut him off. "Your eyes and tattoos glow and you're able to summon unbelievable power."

I furrowed my eyebrows. -I didn't like how he cut Aang off and frankly I found it unsettling how he kept referring to Aang's Avatar State as only a source of power. I didn't know it at the time but my past experiences had started to train me to be a sort of judge of character...or at least learn to pick up any red flags- as subtle as they may be.

Nevertheless the general continued. "Without you we could be slaughtered before we ever reach their shores. But with you leading the way- as the ultimate weapon- we could cut right through to the heart of the Fire Nation."

"Right…" Aang raise an eyebrow. "But I don't know how to get in or out of the Avatar State. Much less so- what to do when I'm there."

"So it's decided then." the General turned around to face us. "I'll help you learn how to get into the Avatar State and then you'll face your destiny."

'_I don't like this guy.'_ I thought.

**'I don't either.' **Brenan's voice rang in my head.** 'Nice thinking of using the chat- I didn't think it would work here.'**

My mind was sent reeling.

'_Yup...I totally meant to do that.' _I sent my message, '_Let's keep an eye on this guy.'_

'_That was by total accident.'_ I thought. '_I haven't used it in so long that I forgot it existed,'_

"No- nothing's decided!" We all stood up as Katara spoke. "We already have a plan. Aang's pursuing his destiny his way."

"Well- while you take your time learning the elements the war goes on." The general replied. "May I show you something?"

He then led Aang over to the window and said. "Do you see that? That's the infirmary and everyday soldiers come in and those...are the lucky ones. Everyday the war claims lives- people are dying Aang! You could end it! Now! Think about it!"

With that we were free to leave as Aang pondered his response but as the other complined and ate their food- I looked to Aang. His head was down and he was merely picking at his food- lost in thought. I bit my lip but kicked his leg from under the table to get his attention. Shocked- he jumped nearly out of his seat and looked at me expectantly. "What is it Brittany?"

"I know you and I haven't really talked since we met but if I can throw in my two cents...I think you shouldn't do it and we should leave here as soon as possible. A friend of mine...had a similar destiny and when they tried everything they could to avoid the final battle until he was ready enough but he met with it earlier than we thought and it didn't end so well. He managed to finish his battle in the end and bring peace to the land but it would have gone better without the bump in the journey." I started to push my food around, ignoring the looks from everyone else. "It's still your decision but it's just some food for thought. I've grown attached to you guys since I came here and I don't want to see any of you hurt."

"Thank you Brittany." He smiled a bit. "I'll think on it."

I nodded and kept eating my food. Soon we we re all done and want to rest in one of the rooms provided to us by the General. Brenan and I weren't very tired though, despite the hour, and used ourtime to practice what we've been learning in our respective elements. Slightly beyond us though were more earthbenders- doing their own late night training. I tried my best to watch their movements without being so obvious.

The next morning, Brenan and I learned that Aang decided to help General Phong...we were less than thrilled, much like Katara but we joined him in his attempts to activate the Avatar State. Their first attempt was a stimulant tea but that only resulted in giving Aang a sugar rush of sorts that took him an hour to come down from. The second attempt was Sokka's idea- he was going to scare Aang into it by stuffing momo into his shirt so it'll look like his head but that didn't really work either.

Brenan and I were constantly talking to each other through our chats about this process and their ideas- we had to stifle our laughs on more than one occasion. It was great- we both know it was something Minecraftians could do but to actually use the chat now was like finding a new toy you've wanted and that all the cool kids had. We were milking it for all that it was worth.

The third attempt to get Aang into the Avatar State was to give him a piece of clothing from each bending nation and then throwing the four elements onto the poor kid- effectively covering hm in mud. It didn't work but instead we were all covered in the same mud when Aang sneezed. The general growled. "We have to find a way…"

The fourth attempt was the worst and most effective of them all. Aang came to the conclusion that he couldn't reach the Avatar State unless he was in genuine danger. That being said, the general then started to attack Aang- even after Aang said that they should stopped. Brenan and I were shocked and trapped just the same as Sokka was for a time- unable to help out friend get out of this situation. Brenan though had his airbending on his side and jumped the eight stories to join in the fray to protect his friend while Sokka and I had to take the long way down.

On the way down, Sokka and I met up with Katara. "What's going on?!"

"The general's gone crazy!" Sokka yelled.

"Yeah- he's trying to trying to force Aang into the Avatar State!" I cried back.

The three of us then joined the battle- Sokka fighting with his boomerang and Katara with her waterbending. I didn't have any water on my person so I settled for my iron sword and an invisible potion to take out the guards that were attacking my friends. After a while though, General Phong changed his tactics and focused on targeting Katara, since she was the most vulnerable and open. Little by little he started trapping her in the ground- pulling her under, much to Aang's dismay. We all started panicking and pleading to stop this madness. Sokka ran to help his sister...only to be knocked off the weird horse bird thing and got stuck on the rock rings. Aang and Brenan started running toward the general in an effort to convince him otherwise while I tried to push her up with my own bending. I didn't get very far before he apparently noticed and pulled her down even further. "Who's doing that?"

I got mad and spinjitzu-ed the general away. "I was! Let her go!"

"Ha can save her if he was in the Avatar State!" The general pointed to Aang. I knew he was right. While I was learning waterbending, my earthbending was less to be desired. "Although...what was that you just did?"

"Spinjitzu!" I yelled.

"And don't you dare touch her!" Brenan yelled back. "She's not going to be your weapon to toy with!"

"You don't need to do this!" Aang cried.

"I'm sinking!" Katara yelled. "Aang help!"

"Apparently- " the general frowned. "I do."

With that he buried her completely- sending Aang into a fit of rage and into the Avatar State. He soon started to spiral a tornado and rise to the sky. It was terrifying to watch this young carefree boy that had become my friend agonise like this but at the same time- to witness such raw power from this boy as well. I was seeing many parallels between him and Lloyd but I couldn't stay on the thought. Brenan suddenly grabbed me- put me on his back and jumped into the sky- away from Aang's attack on the general, soldiers and buildings. He suspended us in the air as he balanced on a ball of air before bringing us back down. "Aang's been teaching you a lot, hasn't he?" I said.

"Yes and I'm glad." Brenan then put me on the ground when the blast had ended. When Aang had returned to the normal plane of existence-

Brenan and I ran to him along with Katara (who was now free) and comforted him. "I'm so sorry guys." Aang leaned into Katara's touch. "I never want you to see me like that again."

We all hugged him as the general came back. "Are you crazy? That was almost perfect! We just have to find a way to control you when you're like that!"

Aang frowned. "You're out of your mind."

He shrugged, waving off Aang comment. "I guess we'll find out on our way to the Fire Nation."

Sokka then came behind him and knocked him out with just one hit. Once the general wa son the floor- Sokka tuned to the soldiers on the base and asked. "Anyone got a problem with that?" (Assuming if they had a problem with knocking the guy unconscious).

There an unanimous agreement that no- there was no problem. "Do you still want an escort to Omashu?" One of the soldiers hesitantly asked.

We all traded glances with each other and silently agreed with Katara's statement. "I think we're all set."

From there we got on top of Appa and left the base- now attempting to find Omashu on our own. We stopped from time to time to get some rest and actually sleep. One of our favorite spots was always by the water- so that Katara, Aang and I could practice our waterbending. It was in these moments- I could see the blatantly obvious crush he has on Katara. When Aang wasn't waterbending, he was teaching Brenan how to properly airbend and essentially his was of life before it was interrupted. It was endearing to watch those two get along and how excited each of them would get throughout the whole experience.

On one of these paces we met a group of singing travelers-who at first called us river people because we were inside it. They were a little strange- they were easily distracted but they played music and were kind enough to braid my hair and place blue flowers to compliment the color. The mentioned some legend of a hero with strange hair but Brenan was there too- so it didn't stick. Sokka had to put his foot down and tell them we had places to be.

He was waved off but Katara reiterated what he said- that they understood (much to Sokka's grief). The nomads then sang about two lovers that described a secret path to ge to Omashu. We attempted to get there (Omashu) on Appa's back but the Fire Nation quickly got us and started shooting fireballs at us. When we got away- the nomads were still where we left them and we reluctantly agreed that the secret tunnels was the only other option.

It was quite the walk there but we made it there in excellent time. Brenan and I were still talking to each other through the chat which worked well for us because I'm not sure how the nomads would have taken it if they actually heard us judging their fashion sense. The only downside was that we didn't really hear any other conversations- we only caught that the cave was cursed and only those who trust in love can get through.

The cave itself was cool- it had statues on the inside but it was incredibly dark so we couldn't really see down into it. I grabbed onto Brenan as a support. "We'll stick together right?"

"Always." He smiled.

The Fire Nation actually started tracking us so we caught their smoke trailing behind us. Aang looked only a tad hesitant. "So you only need to trust in love to get through the caves?"

"You got it Master Arrowhead."

Brenan and I giggled as we saw Aang stare at Katara for a little longer than most would consider comfortable. "We can make it."

With that as our cue we headed into the mountain, although Appa whined the whole way. When we were quite the distance in, the whole place started to shake and once the sunlight had disappeared we realised that we were trapped we panicked and ran back to the entrance wondering what to do. The nomads lite a torch while Aang tried to find a way out.

"It's ok Appa." Katara and I started to pet the distressed flying bison in hopes of calming him down. "We're going to be ok...I hope."

"We are going to be ok." Sokka piped up. "All we need is a plan. How long do those torches last?"

"About two hours each." Answered the nomad.

'_Minecraftian torches don't go out.'_ I thought. '_I don't have much but they can work.'_

"And we have five of them-" Another nomad stated. "-so that's ten hours." Only to lite the rest of them.

"It doesn't work like that if they're all lite at the same time!" Brenan and Sokka then proceeded to snuff the other torches.

"I'm gonna make a map to keep track of exactly where we've been." Sokka said. "Then we should be able to solve it like a maze and get through."

He then started to lad us through but it kept coming up in dead ends.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Sokka tried looking through his map again. "We've already came through this way!"

The nomad was unperturbed though. "We don't need a map- we just need love. The little guys know it."

"Yeah but I wouldn't mind a map also." Said Aang while Brenan and I just nodded in agreement.

"There's only one explanation." Sokka closed the map and looked at us all. "The tunnels are changing."

On cue the whole place started to rumble- almost as if it was haunted. This sent the nomads for a loop. "The tunnels...are changing! It must be the curse! I knew we shouldn't have come down here!"

"Right!" Brenan rolled his eyes. "If we only listened to you."

I smacked his arm. "Be nice."

"Everyone be quiet!." Katara said. "Do you hear that?"

A low grumble came from further in the cave which got louder as time went on- signalling it was coming closer. Momo even took off from Sokka's shoulder in an attempt to get away. Soon a giant flying creature came in and went for the smaller ones of the group- me and Aang. "It's a flying thing with teeth!"

"No! It's a wolf bat!"

'_Wolf bat?'_ I gasped after hitting the ground. '_Why does this place have so many hybrids? In minecraft there's just wolves and bats! No fusions!'_

In the attack- Sokka tried to fend it off with the torch but it got knocked out of his hand. The torch flew through the space and landed on Appa's foot. Confused and afraid- Appa then started running around the place, knocking in walls and nearly bringing the ceiling down on top of us. Aang however acte fast and blasted the others from under it. I hung onto Appa as he ran away and by the time the dust had cleared- it was apparent that only Aang and Katara made it to the other side. The rest were gone...and so was Brenan. I didn't account for the others and started moving the rocks in any way that I could. Mining,bending- heck even just picking them up and throwing them out of the way but it seemed like it was growing instead!

"Brittany calm down!" Katara put a hand on my shoulder.

"But Brenan-"

"We'll see them again." She nodded. "Were you earthbending just now?"

I felt myself physically pale and simply looked away from my mom friend. She looked to Aang and tried again. "Can you earthbend as well?"

Teras started to pool in my eyes from both fear and mortification. "I didn't want you guys to know."

"Why?" Aang tilted his head.

"I'm not normal…" I trailed off but found the courage to speak again. "I'm not normal- I know this but it's easier to pretend otherwise."

"Can Brenan bend two elements as well Brittany?" Katara looked at me expectantly and I realised I have two options. Tell the truth or lie.

I looked at both of my feet. "I don't know I should tell you."

"So he can…" Aang ran a hand over his head as my stomach dropped to my feet.

So much for my options.

"Why didn't he tell us?"

"He was cared." I spoke up. "We're used to being looked down upon because of our hair but… we didn't know if anyone could bend two elements so we kept quiet about it."

"We'll continue this discussion later-" Katara lit up her torch that was taken from Appa's back. "-right now we need to think of a way out."

I nodded and started walking behind her. '_I'm sorry Brenan...please forgive me…'_ Aang sent me many unreadable looks from where he walked and with each one I noticed - I walked a little closer to Appa who I knew did not care about my abilities or outward appearances- he was a friend though and through.

"Aang look!" Katara ran forward and attempted to push away a door of sorts with Aang's help. "It must be the exit."

I felt Appa's change in stance and took many large steps away from the animal. "I think he's gonna charge!"

True to my predictions- Appa charged forwards, head butting the door and knocking it out of place. As the door rolled away, we saw that no...it wasn't the exit, instead it was-

"It's a tomb."

It was a very spacious room with two statues in the middle lying next to each other. Katara's torch didn't really provide light but I think it was for the best. I gulped and looked at the two older kids. "We shouldn't be here."

"It must be the two lovers from the legend." Aang mused as he descended the steps.

Katara started to follow in order to light the way. While I was disturbed, I made my way down the steps and looked at the inscriptions on the tombs...not that I could understand it. Katara said. "These pictures tell their story…"

Wit this new information and Katara's narration- I started to "read" and understand the story a little better. It said, "They met on a mountain that divided their two villages. The villages were enemies so they could not be together. But their love was strong and they found a way. The two lovers learned earthbending from the badgermoles-" '_More hybrid animals.'_ "-they became the first earthbenders. They built elaborate tunnels so that they could meet secretly- anyone who tried to follow them would be lost forever in the labyrinth. But one day the man didn't come- he died in the war between their two villages. Devastated- the woman unleashed a terrifying display of her earthbending power, she could have destroyed them all. But instead she declared the war over. But villages helped her rebuild a new city where they would live together in peace. The woman's name was Oma and the man's name was Shu...the great city was maes Omashu as a monument to their love."

Finished with her story Katara turned around, lighting the two bigger statues kissing behind us. "Love burns brightest...in the dark."

"We have a similar story where I grew up." I commented. "But it doesn't have a happy ending- their names were Romeo and Juliet..but they both die in the end."

"It's sad to see two people who love each other be separated because of forces out of their control." Aang put hand on my shoulder- his gaze only leaving the status once to catch a glimpse of Katara. I simply nodded and hummed in agreement. "How are we going to find our way out of the tunnels?"

"I have a crazy idea." Katara looked at the torch she had, debating whether of not she should say it out loud.

"What?"

She suddenly grew bashful and started to walk away. "Nevermind, it's too crazy."

"Katara what is it?" I tilted my head. "Just because it's crazy doesn't mean it's a bad one- at least let us hear what you were thinking."

"Well…" She didn't turn around. "The curse says that we'll be trapped in here forever unless we trust in love…"

"Riiight…"

"And here it says love is brightest in the dark and has a picture of them kissing." She couldn't look Aang in the eye. I was still confused but I was curious if she was going to elaborate anymore on here idea.

Aang was also confused. "Where are you going with this?"

She suddenly got very red in the face (as much as we could see in the dark) as she looked to the boy in front of her. "Well...what if Aang and I...kiss?"

My own face heated up as I looked between the two of them. I laughed nervous before slowly backing away. "I'm not bashing your idea...you do what you have to do...I'm going to wait with Appa."

Then I ran away as Katara said. "See it was a crazy idea."

As I got up the stairs I could hear them laughing- as if I wasn't there to begin with but it wasn't a joyful laugh. It was a- 'this is awkward and I'm trying to get this moment to pass' kind of laugh. It wasn't long before Aang said something that set Katara off and I could hear them arguing a little. I reached the flying bison and simply hugged the animal. "Help me Appa- Katara's mad now."

He didn't reply but nudge me with his giant wet nose. "Thanks boy."

The two older kids passed us not saying a word but I looked at the giant animal and simply climbed up to his back. "I'm up with Appa...we'll stay together just incase."

He grunted and continued to follow Aang and Katara despite the tense atmosphere. When we were far enough away from the tomb, Aang sighed. "We're going to run out of light any second now...what are we going to do?"

"I have torches we can use." I offered.

Neither of them even bothered to look at me. Katara looked to boy and the dying flame. "What can we do?"

'_I guess they just censored me out of the picture.'_ Katara carefully made her way towards Aang and grabbed the hand that held the candle. Slowly but surely as the fire went out- they leaned their faces closer to each other. I felt like I trespassed onto a very intimate moment and threw myself to the other side Appa's saddle...thing. Once the light was complete gone however- little crystals started glowing from above us- lighting the tunnel in a soft blue glow. I gasped- taking my hands away from my face. "Do you guys see the light too?"

Both kids jumped away from each other at the sound my voice, seemly broken out of the trance they found themselves in. As if they just remembered that I was there as well. "It looks like it's made out of some sort of crystal." Aang mused. "They must only light up in the dark."

"That's how the two lovers found each other!" Katar grinned. I looked down and noticed how their fingers were intertwined. "They just put their lights and followed the crystal. That must but the way out!"

The two other kids hugged each other out of relief. Aang appeared to want to talk about something when they broke apart but Kataar was already booking it down the tunnel. Appa (and I) followed the two and Appa took the lead, practically sprinting for freedom. I laughed and hollered on our way out but yelped in panic when he when to fall backwards once outside. "Appa!" I whined. "You could have crushed me!"

Aanged laughed a bit before looking around- the smil falling from his face. "Where's Sokka and Brenan?"

As if on cue, two holes bursts from either side of the door and out emerged two giant rat like creatures that I could only stare at on shock. "What are those?"

"Badgermoles." Aang said.

On top of one of the sat both Sokka and Brenan as they happily waved to us from a top. The two of them ran towards our group with the biggest smiles on their faces. Brenan ran up to me, wrapping me in a giant hug. "Brittany- you won't believe what happened to us!"

I laughed through the hug and looked at the badgermoles behind him. "I think I might."

"How did you guys get out?!" Sokka stopped in front of Katara.

Aang and walked up to us. "Just like the legend says- you let love lead the way."

"Really? We let huge furious beasts lead our way." Sokka grinned. Brenan turned to me for an explanation but I tapped his mouth and mouthed 'I'll tell you later.' to him. Sokka and then Brenan then turned around to wave goodbye to the badgermoles who left they way they came. Sokka and Katara finally hugged and led Katara to say. "Why is your forehead all red?"

I perked up and ran to the boy. "What? Really? Let me see!"

As I was looking, one of the nomads walked up to us and said with the widest eyes. "No one react to what I'm about to say but I think that kid is the Avatar."

Which caused Sokka to face palm.

Right over the red spot on his forehead.

"Sokka-" Said the nomad- putting his flower necklace over the boy. "I hop you little something about not letting the plans get in the way of the journey." He then brought Sokka and Brenan into a hug. "And Brenan- may you learn that a cool head gets the job done."

"Just play you songs." Sokka groaned.

"Hey!" He let go of the two of them. "Good plan!"

It didn't take long for me to realize that neither Aang or Katara brought up our double bending after all of that.

With that the group of nomads left us and we started our way over the mountain. "Now you see the lesson is that what matters is the destination not the journey." Sokka grinned as we reached. "I present to you Oma-"

"Oh my god." I gasped.

The whole city had been captured and marked by the Fire Nation.

We were too late.


	3. A Series of Unfortunate Events

Shock descends upon our group as we watched the city in silence- by the way they talked- it seemed that they were excited to return to the city. I felt incredibly out of the loop. I wasn't sure what to feel exactly but I wish I could read the other's minds- the looked devastated. Aang was the first to speak. "I can't believe it...I know the war has spread far but Omashu always seemed untouchable."

"Up until now it was." Sokka ran a hand through his hair. "Now Ba Sing Sey is the only Earth Kingdom stronghold left."

"This is awful." Brenan groaned. "I just had to get my hopes up!"

"It's horrible." Katara agreed. "But we have to move on."

Aang shook his head- his face veiled with determination. "No- I'm going in, I have to find Boomi."

"Aang, stop." I took a step forward.

Sokka seemed to be on a similar wavelength and spoke up. "We don't even know if Boomi's still…"

'_Ok- so much for that.'_ I fought the verge to smack myself.

"What?" Aang challenged. "If he's still what?"

"A-around." Sokka finished. Not the greatest save but the elephant in the room wasn't fully addressed.

"I know you had your heart set on Boomi-" I offered. "- but there has to be other people out there who can teach you earthbending."

"This isn't about finding a teacher." Aang's gaze hardened as he looked back into the city. "It's about finding my friend."

The shook me to my core and I was instantly on Aang's side to help him out even if I didn't know this… Boomi. While it didn't take long for the others to agree- there was still some hesitation from our group. On our way to the city we realised we couldn't just walk right on in and so Aang directed Appa to lower to the side cavers (...like the opposite of a wall) and promptly hopped off when he found a way to get inside.

We had to climb through the sewers.

It smelled atrocious… it could have counted as a crime against humanity for it to smell that bad but Aang readily jumped in. Promptly followed by Sokka and Brenan with Katara and I in the rear. Brenan and Aang used their collective airbending to move the sewage out of the way as Katara and I waterbent anything that Sokka couldn't deflect so that it wouldn't hit us instead. It took us awhile to actually get into the city but when we did...it was already night time...with no one to be found.

"That wasn't as bad as I thought." Katara smiled- the rest of us returning it...except sokka- he was covered head to toe in the muck. In a panic I picked up the water from a nearby barrel and blasted it at Sokka- which prompted Brenan to do a similar move with his air to dry him off. When the dust had cleared, Sokka ended up having a little, pink, squid like things on his face...which refused to let go. '_Almost like the star teeth.'_

Amused, Aang set Sokka to the side of a house while we all followed. "Stop making so much noise- it's just a purple pentapus."

A little scratch to the head and the little parasites happily came off. Personally, I thought they were cute.

The moment was cut short when we were spotted by a couple of Fire Nation guards. "Hey! What are you kids doing out past curfew?!"

Sokka and moved in front of Aang to let him cover his head, Brenan followed his lead and helped me cover mine with a nearby towel that he stole. "Sorry." Katara spoke up, feigning ignorance. "We were just on our way home."

We started to walk away and seemed fine for a while but we were told to hold it. "Wait! What's the matter with him?!"

Now… there were three guys in our group- two of which- you can't really misidentify. Naturally then, we were all set up in a internal panic of sorts. Ever the fast thinker- Katara got a quick look at the boys and figured out he was actually talking about Sokka. "He has...pentapox sir!"

One of the guards came over to investigate and actually look at Sokka. I bit my lip and blurted. "It's highly contagious!"

At that Sokka started to "zombify" himself for the sake of our exponentially growing story. Katara looked at me quickly before adding. "And deadly."

This creeped the guards out. "I- I think I heard of pentapox once." One o them gulped. "Didn't your cousin Chang die of it?"

Sokka then proceeded to walk towards the men to keep up his act. It didn't take long to thoroughly creep the guards out enough to scare them away- claiming they were going to burn their clothes. Aang grinned and scratched the top of the pentapus' head. "Thank you little sewer friend."

Silently, we ran throughout the city- avoiding every guard that came across our path. The goal was to find Boomi and leave the city. Aang figured the best place to find his friend was to look for a place where he couldn't earthbend. A place with metal- he said. On our way to find such a cage, Aang noticed that a bunch of boulders were launched at the people below us- prompting him to stop them and effectively gave away our position. The people below thought we were the ones to launch the rocks and the guards that were with them ran towards us. Katara and I knocked down a few guards and blocked some arrows from a charging girl who looked a little older than Katara. She was fast and wasted no time in chasing us down. In an attempt to stop her Brenan stayed behind and knocked down a bunch of shelves from the wall to block her. When the coast cleared, Aang jumped in front of Brenan to block her next sharp attack- successfully catching it in his staff.

It appeared we were cornered for a bit but before she could launch another attack- the floor fell from under us. The contact with the floor was rough and we were surrounded by men in what I assumed were Earth Kingdom uniforms (if the green was anything to go by). We were quick to introduce ourselves and when the confusion was somewhat cleared- we were taken to see the resistance's leader. Aang of course asked the first thing that was on his mind. "Where's Boomi? Is he leading the resistance?"

The man's face hardened. "Of course not! On the day of the invasion we readied ourselves for battle, we were prepared to fight- to fight for our lives- to fight for our freedom. When the Fire Nation arrived- Boomi surrendered."

All faces turned to look at Aang's reaction- the poor boy didn't look like he wanted to believe it but was saddened to hear the news. The man continued talking, despite the obvious nerve he struck. "On the day of the invasion I asked what he wanted to do and you wanna know what he said to me? He said 'I'm going to do nothing.' It doesn't matter now though- fighting the Fire Nation is the only way to freedom and freedom is worth dying for."

_'I disagree'_ I said with my eyes but I personally think no one noticed.

"Actually there's another path to freedom." Aang spoke up. I could physically feel my spirits rise. '_Of course! Thank you Aang! I believe in you!'_ "You could leave Omashu." He continued. "You're directing all your energy to fight the Fire Nation but you're outnumbered and you can't win. Now's the time to retreat so you can live to fight another day."

"You don't understand." Was the immediate reply. "They've taken our home and we have to fight them at any cost!"

"I don't know Yang." One of the men said to his commander. "Living to fight another day is starting to sound pretty good to me."

"Yeah- I'm with the kid!" A third one said. There was a slight murmur amongst the people that appeared to be in general agreement with Aang's idea- causing the first rebel to relent and agree himself. "Fine- but there's thousands of citizens that need to leave. How are we going to get them all out?"

"Suckers!" Sokka blurted. Our group collectively blinked and stared at him in hopes that he'll elaborate. He smirked. "You're all about to come down with a nasty case of pentapox."

Once we explained the idea behind Sokka's outburst- the people got to work collecting the pentapus' and applying them for few seconds for the sucker spots to stay longer than a few hours. When the citizens of the resistance had finished applying the suckers- Sokka taken it upon himself to teach the people how to sell the act.

Basically- walk around like groaning in pain.

Brenan, Katara, Sokka and I decided to join to fray as Aang took the distraction to continue to attempt to find Boomi. In record time the Fire Guards started ro single file the people out of the city without coming too close to us. They genuinely believed that the people were sick and it took all of my willpower to not laugh at their antics.

Once the people were a fair distance away- we decided to set up camp in the valleys for cover. It was only until nightfall when Aang regrouped with us- trailing beside a beast that I've never seen before. I chalked it up to be one of this universes many hybrids and didn't question it. When we reached Aang, it wasn't hard to see his disheartenment. It was written all over his face. "We looked everywhere." He said. "No Boomi."

Immediately Katara went to hug Aang while Soka comforted the beast that came along with Aang. Brenan and I stood there a little awkwardly until the resistance officer approached our group. He said. "We have a problem- we just did a head count."

"Oh- no." Katara gasped. "Did someone get left behind?"

"No- we have an extra."

The man pointed to the left and we all spotted Momo who was haggled by some overly happy toddler. I smiled a bit endeared by the display but I was worried about Momo...he didn't seem too happy. "Where's his family?"

"That's the child of the appointed governor of Omashu." Explained the man. "That's why it's a problem."

"What should we do then?" Brenan grimenced- running a hand through his hair. I could tell he was starting to stress a little more than what was probably needed but no one was coming up with ideas so we settled for brainstorming around one of the bonfires.

The baby had taken quite a liking to Momo (unfortunately for him) but soon Sokka's club as an item of interest. Sokka did not approve.

But relented from both the baby crying and Katara's silent insistence. Some time after we all talked around the fire- a bird of sorts flew over our heads and landed on one of the nearby rocks. "It's a message hawk…" Said the leader. He stood up to get the message and brought it back to us to read aloud. Aang took the message and told us that it was from the governor himself and that he had assumed that we took his son. The man struck a deal with us- his son for King Boomi.

By the time daybreak was upon us our group of friends offered to take back the child- get the forces away from the people. As Aang walked up to us with the kid in his arms, Sokka pointed out. "You do realize that we might as well be walking into a trap, right?"

"I don't think so." Aang readily replied. "I'm sure the governor wants his son back as much as we want Boomi. It's a new day- I got a good feeling about this."

Nobody could argue with that logic so we boarded Appa and landed him safely away from any possible attacks and made the last track on foot. Aang, Brenan and I once again covered our heads to avoid being recognised- it was one of the last things we needed. By the time the trade was supposed to happen- only three girls arrived. One was the girl from the other night who attacked us- one was all dressed in pink while the third I recognized immediately. My blood ran cold. Despite all of the years that have passed- she didn't look any different from her attire or the sharpness of her eyes. If anything, if I was asked I would say that her face sharpened as well but that could have easily have been because she was older.

They walked up to us with determined stances and soon an old man was lowered behind them, greeting us as he touched the ground. I've never seen him before and no one said a word but I figured it was safe to assume that was King Boomi.

"You have my brother?" Spoke the middle girl.

Aang nodded. "He's here. We're ready to trade."

"I'm sorry-" Spoke Azula- causing me to remember how much of a tiny tyrant she was when we were younger. Her demeanor was enough to tell me that she didn't do a lot of changing like Zuko did during the passage of time. I maneuvered my inventory to get my weapons the quickest if needed. My guts were telling me that I would have to fight and I would have to fight and I would no longer be afraid of the Fire NAtion Princess. "-but a thought just occurred to me, do you mind?"

"Of course not Princess Azula." Came a casual reply from the girl in the middle. _'She must be one of her friends from before….who was she though?'_

"We're really trading a two year old for a king-" A smirk was ever present on Azula's face- it unnerved me. '_What is she planning?'_ "-a powerful earthbending king? It just doesn't seem like a fair trade, does it?"

A pause.

"You're right." The middle girl walked forward. "The deal's off."

At the command the king was lifted from the ground and his metal coffin was hoisted back into the air. "See you all later!" He laughed.

"Boomi!" Aang cried and impulsively ran forward, airbending for speed. Azula tried to roast him but he easily jumped over it to gain ground. While he attempted to catch up with the king, his scarf fell away from his head and one look at Azula was all I needed to know that he was found out. This prompted her to chase after her as her friends charged at us. Katara took a fighting stance and yelled. "We have to get the baby out of here!"

"Way ahead of ya'!" Sokka grinned- good naturally, whitling for Appa. We all started to run away as the girl closed the gap between us but Sokka was suddenly struck down. I had just enough time to help him get back up and away from the ledge as pink girl came running towards us after popping up from the ground. That led Brenan and Katara to fight against 'sharp objects are better as projectiles' lady. As the teen in pink got closer I maneuvered some of the water I had collected by the streams (when we would pause/train ourselves) and blasted her away. It bought enough time for Sokka to find a ladder and get the baby away from the fight.

She tried to follow and pass me but I was determined to help out my friends. I water whipped her ankles- simply throwing her out of the way and letting her tire herself out. Each time she ended up further and further away until she gave up on me and turned to her friend to fight against Brenan and Katara (who seemed to have the upper hand). She was closer to them than would have hoped and got to Katara before I could block her. Brenan got distracted while also trying to block pinky from Katara and managed to get a throwing knife of sorts lodged in his shoulder, knocking him down and freezing me to my spot. "Brenan…."

_'Oh my go-….he's bleeding.'_

With flexibility I didn't know a person could have, the pink teen seemed to simply poke Katara's arms which caused her to drop the water she was defending herself with. She tried to pick it up but it didn't work. The sharp enthusiast smirked. "How are you gonna fight without your bending?"

"Like this!" I yelled, running towards them. When I got close enough, I spinjutzu-ed toward them knocking them both away from my friends and on their backs. "Stay away from them!"

Lady in pink gasped. "You're the lost princess…I knew I recognized your face..."

"I'm the who in the what now?" I paled and noticed that my hood fell off my head- revealing my hair. "Uh-oh..."

"This is more like it!" The other grinned. "Azula is going to like this!"

Suddenly a boomerang came whizzing by knocking the weapons out of their hand and startling them. Sokka's voice then called out from Appa. "I seem to manage without any bending you know!"

With that Sokka landed Appa right between Katara and the girls (I rolled out of the way) and helped Brenan get on the saddle. Appa blasted the girls away with the air from his tail and took off right as he was sure that our group was safely tucked onto his back. "We have to find Aang!" Katara called to Sokka.

"Here." I handed Brenan a healing potion from my inventory. "You'll feel better….but we need to get the knife out of your shoulder."

"That's gonna hurt a lot, isn't it?" He winced.

I tried my best to smile but his teal shirt was getting stained more and more as time went by, distracting me from my efforts. "I wouldn't know."

"Just get it over with." He nodded and looked away. "We're not done here."

I bit my lip and grasped the handle. Suddenly, Appa took a sharp turn which threw Brenan and I to the side of the saddle but the motion caused me to pull my hand back and the knife out of Brenan. He cried out and over Sokka's apology while Katara took notice of our situation, healing the wound with the last of the water she had left. "Why didn't you say anything Brenan?"

"How did you not see me go down?" He barked and quickly took to drinking the potion I gave him.

"I just had my bending taken away….it's hard to notice things around you when that kind of thing happens. I didn't even know that was possible." She look away. We couldn't continue our conversation because then she sat up, nearly throwing us of the saddle with her motion and cried. "There's Aang!"

"We can catch him!"

Appa started to fly as close as he could without being blasted by Azula's blue flame. Aang them propelled off of the channel and over shot Appa- flying right over our heads and down onto the city below. We had to try and find them again but they were going down the channel too fast and frankly it didn't take long to lose the king and the airbender. We were only able to find Aang because we heard Boomi laughing away and retreating up the channel. Aang then joined our group again with better spirits than before and helped to bandage Brenan's now healed shoulder (although the other didn't seem to know that he drank a potion so we kept it as secret). We decided to stay till the night and that's when Aang took it upon himself to return the child since the trade didn't go through. I want to say I slept easy with the kid being back with his parents but seeing Azula again and being recognized- not to mention Brenan's injury, it didn't really make for sweet dreams. I was terrified that I may have compromised the group but no one had said anything about my recognition...I was starting to think that they didn't hear the epiphany from the teens. Afterall, she didn't say it very loudly.

It didn't take very long to decide that we should keep going. It got boring being on top of Appa and as we soon learned, Aang could zone out while flying as well. It took Sokka pointing out that we were flying down to knock us all out of our weird funk. "Is something wrong Aang?"

"I know this is going to sound weird-" The boy in question started. "-but I think the swamp is calling to me."

"Yup!" That sounds weird!" Brenan yawned and went back to laying down on top of Appa. "You sure you're not just hypnotised by the lack of change of scenery or something?"

I nodded in agreement. "Yeah- I heard that can happen sometimes if you're not really focusing on anything."

"Well- is it telling you where we can get something to eat?" Sokka rolled his eyes.

"I...think it wants us to land there." Aang tilted his head.

"Well no offence to the swamp but I don't see any land there to land on." Sokka rebutted.

Aang then rolled his eyes. "Well Boomi said that I would need to learn earthbending by stopping any listening. And now I'm actually hearing the earth, do you want me to just ignore it?"

"Yes."

"Maybe…" I piped up. "...I just don't feel good about landing in the middle of nowhere- it looks thick too- what if we get lost or seperated?"

"She's got a point." Katara joined in. "Besides...I don't know. There's something ominous about that place."

Momo than scrambled back onto the saddle and on top of Brenan while Appa roared. Brenan tried to shrug off the flying lemur but made no move to actually get him off. "Looks like Appa and Momo don't seem too thrilled about here either."

"Ok." Aang looked forward and grabbed the reins. "Since everybody feels so strongly about this- bye swamp! Yip-yip!"

"Better throw in an extra yip!" Sokka yelped. "We gotta move!"

Behind us, a random twister formed and quickly gained on us, seemingly following our every move. Aang attempted to steer us out of the way but with every turn he took, the twister got closer. It didn't take long for us to get sucked in and started floating off of Appa's back. Aang realised that he had to do something and jumped back with the rest of us and held his own sphere of wind in an attempt to (quite literally) ride out the storm. He couldn't seem to hold it for too long and while Brenan tried to help- the sphere collapsed in on itself sending all of us flying into the swamp.

When I felt that I could, I immediately sat up and spat out the swamp water, looking around for anyone else that might have landed near me. Brenan popped up not a second later and frantically tried to stand. I rushed over to him and with no warning, he clutched onto me. "Oh thank Notch- you're ok!"

"Same over here." I felt a weight being taken off of my shoulders. "Is your shoulder bothering you?"

"No. It's fully healed now." He flicked the now wet and dangling bandages. "These are really just to keep the others at ease. I thought you knew that."

I smiled and put a strand of hair behind my ear, combing out any vegetation that might have latched on. "Just making sure...where's everyone else?"

Brenan gave me a quick look over before jumping into the trees claiming he'll be right back. He came back down in about thirty seconds looking calmer and in more control. "I heard Aang calling for us from that way-" He pointed in that direction. "-so we should try to regroup."

I nodded and started to follow him through the mess that was the swamp. I jumped when I felt him take my hand, I couldn't even ask him about it before he said. "I'm faster than you so I don't want to lose you. The last thing we should be right now is alone." He then turned to me and smiled. "So we'll stick together!"

I found myself confronted by the small act and realized that maybe it was something he needed to hear himself even if he was the one to say it. We ended up completely missing the others and found ourselves walking aimlessly through the swamp and talking to each other about anything our little heart desired to fill the silence with. This was working to keep ourselves calm until nightfall came. Instinctively I started to think about the mobs at night that would attack us back in Minecraftia and felt a panic start to rise. I suggested that we would build a shelter- only for the night (even if there were no monsters at all) just to avoid the unnecessary anxiety.

Brenan however disagreed despite how easy it would have been for a minecraftian to make one. His only compromise was a shelter in the trees. "I don't know if there are creatures that could hurt us up there-" He said. "-but it'll be dry and we'll be safe from any other creatures down on the swamp floor."

I was tired and growing more paranoid by the second for my lack of bed (or resting place) so I happily agreed. It was arguably easier for Brenan to get up in the trees than it was for me but a quick water tower and I was up. We then spent the next hour or so taking branches and placing them over each other and covering them with leaves and vines to the best of our ability. It could have been better but the two of us weren't planning on making any changes to it. We each used one of our arms so that the other could rest their head somewhat comfortably and called it a night.

It took a while for either of us to fall asleep- the new scenery- the strange noises from the wildlife and the lack of any familiar comforts were the main causes of our restlessness. By the time we woke up we thought it was still night- the trees blocked the rising sun. Brenan appeared to be an early riser (or he slept worse than I did) and it took us (i.e. me) another hour or so to be considered awake enough to continue our journey. We were hungry and still lost- we had no idea where to even look for the others or even if they were still in the swamp or not.

We continuously walked around until about noon and stopped to eat on some of the dry ground...at least the least muddy parts of the swamp. While we were eating what was left of my rations- vines came from all angles at us and attempted to wrap around us and pull us away from each other. Out of instinct and fear, we started to fight back using all of our tools and tricks to get untangled and as far away from the vines as possible. In my desperation to get away however- I ended up being seperated from Brenan anyway.

My heart dropped to my stomach and panic quickly flushed through my veins. "Brenan? Breenaan?! Where are you?!"

No answer.

It didn't take long for me to start frantically running through the swamp- looking for anything remotely similar.

My unspoken prayers were answered when I turned to look around a tree and saw two very familiar males. One was dressed in a white gi while the other was clad in grayscale armour, sporting maroon shoes and gloves- and adjusting the sunglasses as the two "talked".

I froze- this was not the answer I wanted. '_Zane? Adam? Why are they here? _**_HOW_**_are they here?'_

I didn't want to stay and see the outcome of this meeting. I ran away from home and maybe this was how my brother found me- after all Adam was aware on the ways to travel through portals. On the other hand- Zane was dead. I watched him die. There's no way he could be in front of me right now.

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes- trying to get the vision out of my head. '_I'm going crazy.'_ When I looked again they were gone- at least I thought they were. I turned around to leave but they were behind me- their faces as clear as day. I screamed and fell into the swamp water. "Why are you here?!"

"I'm sorry I had to break my promise Brittany." Zane said. "I could hear you calling for me from where I was but I had do it- you know that right?"

"Yes but why?" I choked and looked at him but now it was just Adam. My older brother and the one who gave me the scar on my belly. I was glad to see him after so long, in my heart he was still my brother but I was terrified.

Adam sighed and shook his head. "I told you not to leave."

"Adam listen-"

"I should have been watching you better. We're going home- now!"

"NO!" I threw some water in his face and booked it in the opposite direction. I was tired from trekking through the swamp but adrenaline works wonders. There was no way I could stop running- I couldn't risk being caught and sent back into a prison like lifestyle. Not when I still had a mission to complete! Because I wasn't watching where I was going- I crashed into a more familiar being and sent us tumbling through the swamp flora. While we were barreling through the swamp life- we crashed into two more people and eventually came to a stop on top of a massive log. Slowly we all stood up and tried to catch our berrings.

I rubbed my head to attempt to get rid of the headache when Brenan came crashing into me like a torpedo. "Are you ok? Don't leave me again!"

"I'm fine-" I offered a weak smile. "-and yeah I'm fine. You?"

"What are you guys doing?" Sokka yelled- being the first to actually stand up.

I rolled my eyes. "Good to see you're alright too, and we're fine thanks for asking."

"I've been looking all over for you." He ignored me. "Where were you?"

"Well I've been wandering around looking for you!" Katara snapped back. Aang seemed apprehensive to talk but spoke up anyway. "I've been...chasing some girl."

Katara sobered up and turned to face him. "What girl?"

"Your future girlfriend?" Brenan teased. When I saw him relax- I finally allowed myself to breath. I've been noticing that Brenan's very...clingy to me- ever since we actually met...I might ask him about it later but I'm glad he's feeling better.

"No!" Aang pouted in response. "I don't know who she is. I heard laughing and saw a girl in some fancy dress."

"Well there may be a tea party here!" Soka announced. "And we didn't get our invitations! How rude!"

Katara sighed. "I thought I saw mom…"

That shut us all up- processing the information. I wasn't around for long but I could tell that she held her mother in a high regard...and that both Sokka and Katara haven't seen her in a long time.

I bit my lip but was starting to see a connection. "Wait...you guys saw people too? Like everyone saw something?"

Sokka looked down but didn't reply and Brenan only nodded- not telling us who he saw. Sokka sighed and took charge of the ever present silence. "Look, we were all scared and hungry and our minds were playing tricks on us. That's why we all saw things out there."

"Who'd you see Sokka?" I pushed my hair behind my ear.

"I thought I saw Yue." Sokka turned around- not letting us see his face. "But that doesn't prove anything. Look I think about her all the time and you saw mom- someone you miss a lot… Brittany- Brenan- what did you see?"

"I saw Skylar...my older sister." Brenan muttered- his grip tightening on my arm. I pretended not to notice.

"I did two people-" '_Not really but close enough.'_ "-I saw Adam and my friend Zane." I looked at my feet.

"Zane?" Katara tilted her head.

"He...died a while ago...right before I came here actually." I offered her a weak smile, trying to play the whole thing off as no big deal. "I miss him a lot."

"But what about me?" Aang said. "I didn't know the girl I saw...and all of our vision led us to right here."

"Ok…" Katara took a deep breath in. "Where's here?"

"Maybe- we're in the middle of the swamp?" Brenan offered, letting go of my arm.

"Yeah. "Aang looked up. "The center…"

Behind us was a giant tree- way bigger than any tree I've seen in Minecraft or Ninjago combined. "It's the heart of the swamp." Aang continued. "It's been calling us here, I knew it!"

"It's just a tree." Sokka rolled his eyes. "It can't call anyone. For the last time there's nothing after us...and there's nothing magical happening here."

On cue a giant splash from one of the pools next to us. We all screamed and huddled close to each other as a huge monster made up of what looked like vines stared us down. It's wooden face had a creepy smile and with one swing of its arm- had us scattered in all directions. It seemed to target Sokka but one cut from my sword was all it took for it to change its attention onto me.

Frankly I couldn't get away in time and was forced to be tossed around like a rag doll until I also was cut free. The vines also seemed to build up from the water beneath Sokka and I so we spent our energy constantly trying to free ourselves. In one swoop the beast scooped both me and Sokka up and launched itself through the swamp. Katara caught up in front of the monster and blasted it. The monster seemed to heal itself though and promptly tried to attack Katara and Brenan who joined in the fray to try and free his companions. It seemed too much for the two of them though and they were promptly blasted away from the vine beast.

The creature then started to absorb Sokka into itself despite how hard Sokka tried to resist. It didn't take long for a similar process to be executed onto me. '_I can't reach my sword! I can't move at all!'_ While Sokka and I struggled- Aang and Brenan caught up to us once again using their airbending. Aang settled for twisting the monster over itself while Brenan sliced through the vines in an attempt to free us. Katara then came in and froze us into the vines only to blast through it with more water. Sokka and I landed on the other side- on top of each other and watched as the monster patched itself up again.

Once again it came for the both of us but Aang then launched its face into the water...only to also be blasted out of the area again. I growled and sliced the monster myself with the waterbending techniques I watched Katara use. With our combined efforts the monster was having trouble constantly healing itself.

"There's someone in there!" Sokka yelled from behind us. "He's bending the vines!"

Katara then landed what we all thought would be the final cut but more vines trapped her and held her hostage. In response- Aang came in and blasted as much air as he could at the "beast" until only the man inside was left. "Why did you call me here if you just wanted to kill us?!"  
"Wait!" The man said. "I didn't call you here."

The vines were lowered but no one got out of their fighting stances. "We were flying over and I heard something calling to me." Aang explained. "It told me to land."

"He's the Avatar." Sokka said. "Stuff like this happens to us **a lot**."

Brenan and Katara nodded in agreement. I bit my lip and tried to hide my widening eyes. '_I've only been here for like a month- what did I miss?!'_

"The Avatar?" The old man said. "In that case- come with me."

He then started to lead us through the swamp and we found ourselves once again at the center of the swamp- right by the ginormous tree. Katara was the first to directly ask the man questions. "So who exactly are you then?"

"I protect the swamp from folks that want to hurt it." He said- moving countless vines out of our way. "Like this fella here with his big knife-"

"See completely reasonable-" Sokka put away from machete. "-not a monster, just a regular guy defending his home."

"But why did you go for my sister then?" Brenan frowned.

"She also had a sharp weapon- used it to cut that one down."

"It's not like she was using it on thweswamp though!" Brenan waved his arms around.

I grabbed his wrists and pulled him along. "Can we not make him angry? I don't want a part two of the fight."

"Ok- whatever- I don't see how you can look over that though." The pinkette grumbled.

I turned to the man and shrugged, promptly trying to catch up with my friends.

"There's nothing mystical about it!" Sokka continued with his rant.

"But the swamp is a mysterious place." The old man intervened. "It's sacred. I've reached an enlightenment right here under the banyan grove tree. I heard it callin' me just like you did."

"Sure you did." Sokka rolled his eyes. "The tree seems real chatty."

"See- the whole swamp is just one tree spread out over miles." The old man ignored the boy in blue. "Branches spread and sink and take root and grow and spread some more- one big living organism. Just like the entire world."

"I get how the tree is one big thing-" Aang interrupted. "-but the whole world?"

"Sure." The man shrugged. "You think you're any different from me or your friends or this tree? If you listen hard enough, you can hear every livin' thing breathen' together. You can feel everything growing- we are all livin' together even if most folks don't act like it. We all have the same roots...and branches of the same tree."

"But what do our visions mean?" I asked, entranced by his little speech.

Those were words I would keep with me for the rest of my life.

"We see visions of people we've lost- people we've loved- folks think are gone but the swamp tells us they're not. We're still connected to them- time is an illusion and so it death."

"But what about my vision? It was someone I've never met." Aang tilted his head in confusion.

The old man smirked. "You're the Avatar, you tell me."

"Time is an illusion." He muttered to himself. "So- it's someone I will meet."

The old man nodded in approval.

"Sorry to interrupt the lesson but we still need to find Appa and Momo!" Sokka stood up, putting his hands on his hips.

"I think I know how to find them." Aang put his palm on the tree and started glowing again. He stayed like that for a minute before frantically standing up and saying. "Come on! We gotta hurry!"

Following Aang's lead, all of us traveled via vine monster to where Aang said Appa and Momo would be. We landed on a small group people who had Appa in a net and Momo trapped in a bag. Aang, Katara and I used our collective water bending "powers" to move the people away from the boats. Katara was the first to make the connection. "Hey- you guys are waterbenders!"

"You too?" Yelled one of the skinnier men. "That means we're kin!"

Katara outwardly cringed and we all let the water fall back where it belonged. Sokka and the old man then caught up to us- distracting the last standing swamp dweller from Brenan who was cutting Appa free from the net. "Hey Hugh! How you been?"

"Oh you know-." The old man smiled. "-scared some folks, swung some vines- the usual."

We all blinked at the transaction. "Hugh?"

"Ya'll know each other?" I raised an eyebrow- slightly copying their way of speaking.

"Hey! You got pink hair- it's real purty! How'd you get it that color?" The swamp man yelled at me.

I could feel a slight blush on my face from being called out. "Thank you but I was born this way!"

"That's purty unusual!"

"I get that a lot."

"How about you folks join us for supper?"

Now that Appa was free we agreed.

"Whoa- another one! How many of ya'll got pink hair?!"

Brenan and I had a long night ahead of us.

The food was...different. I was hungry though and didn't want to complain (and while I wanted to stock up on my food reserves, I didn't want to take more than what these people were giving already). "How do you like that possum chicken?"

I nearly choked but I think I hid it well enough to not arouse suspicion. Brenan however didn't hide it...I don't think he really tried. Sokka raised an eyebrow but didn't make any comment on our reactions. "Tastes like arctic hen. So why were you guys so interested in eating Appa? You've got plenty of those big things wandering around."

"You want me to eat ol' Slim?" The swamp dweller asked, horrified. "He's like a member of the family."

For the record- "Slim" was a crocodile, catfish hybrid thing.

"Well you almost ate a member of our family." I muttered, picking at the roach on my stick.

Sokka then threw part of his roach at "Slim" but the beast did not approve. The locals laughed. "Slim don't eat no bugs- that's people food."

"Whatever you say sir." Brenan muttered- causing me to giggle in response.

"Where'd you guys say you were from?" A local asked.

Katara didn't even miss a beat. "The South Pole."

"Didn't know there were waterbender anywhere but here." Was the reply given to her.

"They got a nice swamp there, do they?"

"No it's all ice and snow." She smiled.

That shut the locals up- even the music stopped.

"No wonder you left."

Now I was outwardly laughing along with Brenan. We didn't care for the looks we received and personally my day was made.

"Now you can see there was nothing going on here." Sokka turned to his sister. "Just a bunch of greasy people living in a swamp."

"If you were from where Brenan and I grew up- you'd be called rednecks...or hillbillies." I said between giggles as my laughter died down.

"And where are you from little lady?"

"Very far away." Brenan shrugged.

I nodded. "From a kingdom called Minecraftia- I don't think you've heard of it. Not many people that I've met so far have."

"If it's so far away what brings you here?" The locals snuck a quick glance at each other.

"I'm looking for my parents. "I said taking out my tag. "This is my only clue where to find them- that's why I'm very far away from my home."

"That sure is shiney!"

"It is." I put my tag back under my shirt. Sokka and Katara continued talking during my conversation with the locals- Aang then said (catching my attention) "But what about when the tree showed me where Appa and Momo were?"

"That's Avatar stuff, it doesn't count." Sokka only rolled hi eyes. "The only thing I can't figure out is how you made the tornado that sucked us down."

"I can't do anything like that." Hugh shrugged. "I just bend the water and the plants."

"Well- no accounting for weather." Sokka leaned back. "Still there's absolutely nothing mysterious about the swamp."

We paid no mind whatever Sokka continued to talk about next and I tried to finish off the last of my roasted bugs. '_Nevermind- this is not going into my rations- no matter how hungry I might get.'_

The locals were then kind enough to then let us stay the night in their little village. When morning then came by we all boarded Appa as fast as we could without seeming rude to the swamp dwellers and then took off in what the locals deemed the safest route to avoid more vines and get out of the swamp completely.

I didn't think I would be as happy as I was to be in the air again.

Our new destination for an earthbending master?

How could I have known we would have found her in a rather... unconventional way?


	4. Toph Beifong

As our traveling continued we had to constantly be on the run from anyone Fire Nation related. On one of our resting moments we "trained" except with these guys it didn't really feel like training- just a bunch of friends learning new tricks from each other. At the time I couldn't remember where I could have been so relaxed with friends.

Katara was teaching Aang to waterbend wonderfully and had taken to show me how to heal with waterbending. Aang was teaching Brenan how to use his staff so when possible, Brenan would be able to use his own. Sokka and I spared with each other- clashing blades when we could just because we could.

At some point though we tumbled across a little town that hated the Avatar and imprisoned Aang for killing their past leader. It...was an interesting short-venture. Sokka and Katara went searching for evidence to clear Aang's name when he was accused. Brenan and I took the liberty of hanging out with Aang and the other jail mates. We had a ball.

The whole thing was solved when Aang managed to summon hid old Avatar self (who confessed) and when that mess was cleared up- Aang defended to people from a Fire NAtion invasion. They claimed community service and him helping out as the punishment for killing the past tiny tyrant even if aag himself did nothing wrong.

It was fun- you know- for narrowly avoiding the execution of a friend.

Personally, I had a blast fighting the guys on the fire rinos.

So that adventure aside- we tried to get closer to any Earth Kingdom for find that earthbending master. We eventually made it to a promising village where we restocked our supplies. During the trip throughout the town- we caught wind (no pun intended) of a tournament where the greatest earthbenders would be. After Katara managed to get the information on where it would be- we all waited until the night hour and headed underground.

The five of us the picked our seats in the front row and collectively prayed that we wouldn't get hit by any wayward rocks. I took the opportunity to watch their movements and attempt to commit them to memory. '_I gotta restart my earthbending...maybe Aang's teacher would be willing to teach me too.'_

There was a man who called himself The Boulder who continuously won every match until he reached the champ. We were tempted to see if The Boulder might be Aang's teacher but Aang wasn't so quick to jump on the option. I was a little deterred with how willing people were able to throw rocks and just let the other person deal with it. But if they lacked the earthbending skills to handle it- I suppose they wouldn't be here to begin with. Besides- I didn't want to be the downer of the group, especially when Sokka and Brenan seemed to genuinely enjoy the spectacle.

When it came down to it- the champ was actually a girl (who could have been my age) who went by the title- The Blind Bandit. Katara seemed to be shook by the title. "She can't really be blind, can she? It's just part of her character?"

We (Aang and I) studied her a little closer. Aang seemed to blink into a realization. "I think she is."

"The Boulder feels conflicted about fighting a young blind girl." Said the man who was speaking in third person the entire time.

The girl smirked. "Sounds to me like you're scared Boulder!"

"The Boulder's over his conflicted feelings and now he's ready to bury you in a rockalanch!"

"Whenever you're ready- The Pebble!" I had to stifle my laughter ather taunt.

Right as The Boulder took a step forward, the girl earthbent him into a tight split- which left him unable to battle for the time being. The Blind Bandit took the opportunity to knock the man out of the rink- defending her title. The match was over in like five seconds.

"To make things a little interesting-" Yelled the announcer. "-I'm offering this sack of gold rings to anyone who can defeat The Blind Bandit!"

No one dared to breath.

"What?" The man seemed shocked. "No one dare face her?"

"I will!" Aang hopped out of his seat and walked right into the rink before any of us could stop him.

"Aang get back here!" I whisper yelled at him.

Katara was in a similar state of mind, even going as far as to try and reach for him as he jumped. "Are you crazy?!"

The Blind Bandit was not deterred. "Do people really want to see two little girl fighting out here?!"

Now that she said it (-even though in my eyes Aang didn't look like a girl) the two of them were around the same height and that's coming from someone who was taller than Aang.

In response- Aang put his hands up. "Honestly, I don't really want to fight you, I just want to talk to you."

"BOO- no talking!" Sokka yeled. I smacked his head in my own response. At that the girl struck Aang but he "floated" himself away from the attack. She was not amused. "Someone's a little light on their feet. What's your fighting name? The Fancy Dancer?"

Aang grinned and shrugged.

The Blind Bandit didn't give up though and moved to attack Aang again. When she had to strike him again after her failed attempts, Aang blasted the boulder with air and knocked her out of the ring- along with the giant rock.

The whole stadium was silent- shocked to see that someone had defeated The Blind Bandit! Once the crowd returned to their senses- they started to cheer for Aang's victory who then took it upon himself to chase after the girl. This left the remaining four of us to run into the stadium and collect Aang's winnings. When the airbender returned- he looked more than a little disheartened.

After a good nights rest though- we made it our mission to find the Blind Bandit and recruit them! The only issue was that we had no idea where to start and it appeared that those we asked didn't know who she was either. But we got our first lead when we told some locals that Aang's vision from the swamp was a girl in a peteled dress with a pet flying boar.

That rang a bell for who we were talking to! They said the flying boar was a symbol of the Beifong family- the most prominent family of the village. So- without wasting any time our group made our way to the Beifong household! But instead of knocking on the gates like normal people- it was decided that we were going to "hop" the fence. The only one who seemed to have an issue with it was me. Brenan actually had to grab my hand to drag me along so we wouldn't be spotted.

While we were in some of the nearby bushes, the ground underneath us started to rumble and with no time to react we were all launched into the air. Sokka and Brenan were the unfortunate souls who didn't land in a bush to soften their fall.

"What are you doing here Twinkle Toes?" A new voice called out.

I scrambled out of the bush and looked at the girl who glared in aang's general direction. Aang looked confused. "How did you know it was me?"

"Don't answer to Twinkle Toes!" Brenan groaned, sitting up in the process.

Sokka groaned as well but didn't actually make any effort to move. "It's not manly!"

Katara scoffed. "You're the one who's bag matches his belt Sokka!"

The girl ignored us all. "How did you find me?"

"Well-" Aang moved away from the bush. "- a crazy earthbender king told me that I had to find a master who listened to the earth and then I had a vision in a magic swamp and-"

"What Aang is trying to say is-" Katara interrupted because ouch, that's not a believable story. "-he's the Avatar and if he doesn't master earthbending soon, he won't be able to defeat the Fire Lord."

"Not my problem." She frowned and started to walk away from us. "Now get out of here or I'll call the guards!"

"Look we all have to do our part to win this war-" Sokka started. I took one good look at her before slowly stepping away and grabbed Brenan by the sleeve. "-and yours is to teach Aang earthbending."

"Guards! Guards help!" She cried… although not very convincingly.

We all ran to find cover and eventually ran back towards the way we came before the guards spotted us. "Toph!" One of the guards yelled. "Toph, what happened?"

"I...I thought I heard some one." She put her hands together. '_Someone give this girl a medal. What an actor!'_ "I got scared."

"You know your father doesn't want you to wander around without supervision Toph." The guard explained but escorted her out of the gardens. One look at Aang and we all knew that he was planning something. I looked at everyone and sighed. "Are we actually going to use the front door now?"

"Don't worry too much about that Brittany!" Aang slung an arm around my shoulder- knocking me down an inch or two so he was temporarily taller. "I have an idea."

"I know." I grinned. "It's written all over your face."

"Let's go then!" Brenan shrugged and swaggered his way from the group.

We all then followed Aang and told the guards at the front who we were and who we wanted to see. After the news came through to the head of the house that THE AVATAR was there to visit, we were promptly invited for dinner.

Both the Mr. and Mrs. chatted happily with Aang about when the war would end and how it was an honor for him to visit them. I wanted to listen to their conversation but Sokka was eating shamelessly that I… well I tried to have more manners than him but I too started to enjoy the food they provided. "But because of her blindness-" The father said- catching my attention. "-I'm afraid she would never be a true master."

We all collectively shared looks with each other. '_This guy's got to be kidding, right?'_ Aang started to refute the claim but Toph moved his chair forward so he would face plant into his food. I blinked and realised that I felt her do it. Her parents didn't seem any wiser to what she was doing and frankly- if I was just looking at her, I wouldn't have been able to tell at all except for the pleased smile on her face. '_I need to find a teacher.'_

In retaliation, Aang faked a sneeze that sent all the food into the people's faces. _'Good thing I ate my portion.'_ Angered- Tpoh stood up. "What's your problem/!"

"What's your problem?!" Aang fired back. The wife tried her hardest to break up the obvious tension and offered an escape. "Shall we move to the living room for dessert?"

I sat up and nodded. "Yes please!"

"There's one thing about you two…" The teacher spoke up, gesturing to me and Brenan. "Why do you look like that?"

Brenan tilted his head, playing dumb. "Look like what?"

"Your hair- what an unusual color."

I smiled. "We get that a lot."

"It's common in their tribe to have unnatural hair color." Katara spoke up for us. "It's a status symbol?"

She looked at us for confirmation but we only shrugged. "Not really- yes it's common but a change in hair color is kind of like an earning of your stripes." Confused looks all around! So I had to elaborate. "It's not exactly a status symbol but it just means you've earned the right of an adult...a coming of age thing, if you will."

"And where are you from?"

My palms started sweating and I found myself getting self-conscious. Soon enough I found myself hiding behind Brenan while clinging to his arm. In turn he shoved his hands in his pockets and didn't really look up from the ground.

"Minecraftia of whatever." Sokka answered in our stead (probably seeing how comfortable we were). "They don't talk about it too much."

"And why's that?" The father asked.

In unison Brenan and I answered. "Bad memories."

No one bothered to dwell any deeper and the dessert was enjoyed in relative silence. I almost forgot about the whole dinner fiasco. The Beifong were kind enough to let us say the night in one of their spare rooms when everything was cleaned up. As we all were getting ready to rest for the night, Toph showed up unexpectedly at our room.

"Relax-" She leaned on the doorframe. "Look I'm sorry about dinner- let's call a truce, ok?"

Aang actually took a moment to consider her and offered a chat in the gardens to explain to each other the gist of what was going on. I smiled at the girl as she left and promptly made myself at home on one of the beds. '_So she can be nice- I hope we can be friends.'_ They were gone for a while and I took the liberty of the calmness to try ro catch some sleep.

It didn't last long.

Soon I was being shaken awake and being told that aang and Toph were gone! Kidnapped!

The only thing that showed that they were taken were two square imprint on the ground and a message purposefully left behind for us to find. Sokka grabbed the blade by the handle and said. "Whoever took them left us this."

Katara took the message off the blade and began to read it out loud. "If you wish to see your daughter again bring 5,000 gold pieces to the arena. It's signed Shin Fu and The Boulder."

Sokka and Brenan freaked out over The Boulder's signature where as the father turned to Toph's teacher. "Master Yu, I need your help to get my daughter back."

I looked at the boxed imprints in the ground and simply said. "We're coming with you."

"Poor Toph." The mother looked like she was on the verge of crying. "She must be so scared."

I frowned and sat next to the mother in a quiet attempt to comfort her. '_I don't think she's the one who's scare ma'am but we'll see how this plays out.'_

The mother eventually gathered herself and stayed behind while we all went back to the arena for the trade off. "Hey!" Sokka caught their attention. "We have your money- not let them go!"

The teacher then bent the coins over to the main captors once Sokka dropped it. A quick inspection stated the green light to let Toph down. Once she was free- she ran over to her father and began to walk away. I got angry real quick. "What about Aang?"

"I think the Fire Nation would pay a hefty price for the Avatar." The host lowered a wanted poster. "Now- get out of my ring!"

"We all reached for our weapons to fight back but quickly noticed that not only were we outnumbered but those against us were all from the tournament. Aang shook his head at us from where he was. "Go! I'll be ok!"

Slowly we back off and went back to get the one who we knew who could take them. I called out to her. "Toph!"

"We need your help!" Brenan yelled out after.

Katara pleaded with the girl who continued to walk away. "There's too many of them- we need an earthbender!" She side glanced at me but continued talking. "We need you!"

"My daughter is blind!" The father growled. "She is blind and tiny and helpless and fragile! She could not help you!"

Tpoh took her hand away from her father's. "Yes- I can."

I grinned. "That's the spirit."

She walked to us to take back our friend. She blocked the path of the men and shouted. "Let him go! I beat you all before and I can do it again!"

"The Boulder takes issue with that commnet!"

I rolled my eyes. "Stop talking in third person, will ya!?"

One of the guys threw Aang to the side carelessly and the group then charged at us. We went to run forward but Toph stopped us from doing so. "Wait! They're mine!"

We were all shocked ad quickly took a step back and gave the girl some space. She then readied herself and built enough energy that when the men were close enough, she blasted them all back and a huge dust storm remained. When she saw fit- she walked into the dust storm all by herself. May jaw went slack. "I want to learn how to do that!"

"Well if this all goes well, maybe she'll show you." Katara patted my shoulder before running to where Aang landed to try and break him free while the men were occupied. Honestly- it took us longer as a group than it should of but we then all stopped to watch Tpoh single handedly throw the whole group of men out of the arena. In a single move of her arms- she made the dust disappear and the only person left was the ring leader himself. The circled each other- waiting for the other to make a move until the host struck! Toph covered herself in a rock shield before launching that at him. The man jumped to avoid it and threw it a rock of her- narrowly missing her before she moved back in and knocked him out- nearly sending the man into the father! The crew cheered and ran toward the small girl ro congratulate her on her fearless victory.

The way back to the manor was silent...from the father side anyway. The rest of us were gushing about her win and recalling all that she did- even the teacher was impressed! He called her, "the greatest earthbender yet". So I blame him for her attitude later on. When we finally arrived back to the house- Toph's father wanted an explanation and she was more than willing to give one. My group sat on the benches behind her- for moral support.

She started off by saying. "Dad- I know it's hard to see me this way. I love fighting! I love being an earthbender! And I'm really really good at it! I know I've kept my life a secret from you but you were keeping me a secret from the whole world! You were doing to protect me but I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend. So now that you see who I really am - I hope it doesn't change the way you feel about me."

"Of course it doesn't change the way I feel about you Toph." Her father sighed. "It's made me realise something…"

"It's has?" She sounded so hopeful.

"Yes.. I've let you have far too much freedom." He frowned. We all collectively gasped. "From now on you will be guarded and cared for twenty four hours a day."

Shock went through my system- I swear I've heard these words before. I stood up in protest but was sat back down by Sokka. I can- She can take care of herself! This isn't fair!

"But dad-!"

"We're doing this for your own good Toph." The mother coxed.

The father then stood up and pointed to the door. "Please escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here."

"I'm sorry Toph." Aang said as we were all "pushed" away.

She sounded close to crying. "I'm sorry too...goodbye Aang."

That night we waited a bit before taking off to set camp for the night. The Beifong manor was within our sights but we were far enough away that we couldn't really get into any trouble. I set myself apart from the group- hiding my tears. I didn't think I would have found someone with circumstances from my home...to be sealed away because someone thought you were too fragile then something stupid happens and whatever freedom you had is taken away from you. It wasn't fair! She didn't do anything to deserve it!

"Dang...didn't know you would miss me that much." Toph said from behind me.

I gasped and ran toward her for a hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to join you." She grinned, punching my arm once I let go of her. "What were you sniffling about?"

I laughed out of embarrassment and dried my tears. "It's a long story, but it's a lot like yours."

Her smile fell for a quick second before she started walking in the direction of everyone else. "Welp...maybe I'll have time to hear it."

"Wait up guys!" I called out, pulling her behind me. "Don't leave just yet!"

"Toph!" Aang cried. "What are you doing here?"

"My dad changed his mind." She grinned. "He said I could travel the world."

"Well in that case we better get out of here before he changes his mind again." Sokka grinned.

Aang smiled. "You're gonna be a great teacher Toph."

"Oh yeah? I wanted to show you something." She smiled back- a strange glint in her eyes. The second Aang landed to see it, she launched into into the tree above us. "Now we're even...um...I'll take the belt back."

Regrettably, Sokka removed the belt and tossed it to her- hitting her on the head. After Aang fell out of the tree and we help Toph get on Appa, we were off into the skies- traveling once again. We felt at peace now that we had someone to teach Aang- we slept well that night.

With the added member to our party the dynamic had now changed- the energy was different so we had to rewire ourselves to accommodate for it. Unfortunately we weren't accommodating fast enough- which resulted in more squabbles I could count.

It was spring around the time this all happened. Which meant new coats for animals...including Appa who shedded like a beast (which he was but shh). While it made the ground we walked on comfortable enough to sleep on, it made it easier to track us down. We were ambushed at least three times before we (read: Toph) realised it was Appa's "fault" and the group gave him a good brushing. It was really all thanks to Toph who caught on that something was following us and that it was because of Appa. None of us got any sleep those days.

Throughout the whole fiasco though, I got to see what a lack of sleep can do to a person. Toph and Katara were constantly fighting- Katara wanted Toph to help out but Toph was content to just do everything for herself and take care of herself essentially. Their tension was putting a strain on all of us- their clashing personalities certainly didn't help any peace making that the rest of would offer. I sighed and looked to Aang. "Any ideas on how to shut them up?"

"If they annoy you- you can shut them up." He settled for a soft glare.

"They seem to annoy you too- I was asking for suggestions not for you to do something!" I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Not you guys to." Brenan whined.

"Just sleep- come on." Sokka guided us all away and made us all sleep on the ground. "Time to sleep and ignore the rumbly machine that's been chasing us. Those three girls couldn't have followed us this far. "

"Everytime we land those girls are there." Katara offered- seemingly only catching the tail end of our conversation. "So...we'll just have to keep flying."

"We can't fly forever." Aang yawned.

Brenan leaned against Appa's saddle and shrugged. "We can try."

No one really talked after that- ether that or I've been nodding in and out of every interaction. At one point, I felt myself being woken up and I vaguely remember walking back to Appa to set off flying again.

Soon though- I felt like I was flying. The wind going through my hair and the taste of the air on my face with a sense of weightlessness. "BRITTANY!"

My eyes snapped open and I quickly latched onto Brenan's extended arm to see that we were truly falling out of the sky. "What's happening?!"

"Appa fell asleep!" Aang yelled back- attempting to awaken his companion.

He awoke in time and started to fly forward again- causing us all to roughly hit the saddle and continue to hold on for dear life as we crash landed into the forest below. I gasped for breath and attempted to calm my racing heart. "Is everyone ok?"

"Yeah." Sokka rolled his shoulders. "Right now our plan is to follow Appa's lead and get some sleep."

"Maybe we would have gotten some sleep earlier if Toph helped out!" Katara barked over her shoulder. I whined. "Can we not do this now please?"

Brenan groaned at Toph's reply. "Here they go again."

I looked at him and the blanket in his arms. "Wanna sleep away from the group? We share a blanket anyway." I offered- not really having the energy to get up but powered through anyway. Brenan nodded in agreement and borderline dragged the blanket away from everyone. Together we helped each other get off of Appa and walked like the living dead towards the edge of the clearing Appa created. We put the blanket on the ground and huddled together for warmth. It didn't take long for either of us to shut down and be completely oblivious to the commotion with the rest of the group.

We woke up alone but refreshed. I yawned and shook Brenan awake after stretching my body to the full. "Come on- wake up."

"No…" He whined but complying anyway. "Five more minutes?"

"Brenan the others are gone." I stood up- panicking a little. Sure enough, Appa was gone and there was no trace of any of our friends. The only proof that the clearing was still occupied was the weird metal tank that had been following us. Brenan and I backed away from the clearing (not forgetting the blanket) and quickly ran in some random direction, following Appa's fur on the ground. Brenan started to slow down beside me when we got a considerable distance between us. "Do you think they got away?"

"They had to." I slowed down to a walk. "Where would this trail come from?"

"Is this how we were being followed?" Brenan shook his head, putting his hands on his hips. "No wonder they caught up every time."

I nodded in agreement and we walked in silence for a while before Brenan spoke up. "What do you think is at the other end of the trail?"

"It's either Appa and our friends or the princess...either way, we'll find someone we know whether we like it or not." I shrugged.

"You mean **you'll **find someone you know whether you like it or not. I've never met the princess." He ruffled my hair.

"Yeah, yeah whatever." I pushed him off my good naturedly.

Brenan put his hands on top of his head and grinned. "Maybe we'll even see good ol' Zuko again. It's been a while since we've last seen 'im."

"It has, hasn't it?" I looked up at the sky. "I wonder what happened to him, he wasn't always as cold as you see him today."

"Maybe all the heat he had to deal with got to him and needed an internal cooling system like that. He comes from the Fire Nation after all." Brenan snorted.

"Shut up!" I laughed a bit- not knowing the truth behind his words. "That was bad- you set that up!"

"You can't deny he's a hot head."

"Oh my Notch." I rolled my eyes. Neither of us could come up with anyway to keep the conversation going, Brenan changed the subject. "Do you think they were followed?"

"Those girls aren't stupid- you saw them in action already. We might as well be walking straight into a fight."

Brenan took this into consideration- by the look of his face, he didn't like my answer but made no verbal claim to refute it. "How do you know these girls again?"

"I was a guest in the Fire Lord's palace when the late king would visit to discuss trade plans. I was supposed to play with his children and their friends. I'm sure it's easier to remember me than it is for me to remember them but I think those three girls are the same from then." I felt some blood push to my face and stay there. Brenan made no comment and continued walking ion like we were discussing the weather- not a somewhat dangerous (to the future) past.

Soon enough (as we walked for hours on end) we reached a small abandoned village where multiple buildings seemed to be slowly set aflame. I sighed and took out my sword. Brenan groaned. "I'm starting to get the feeling you're always right."

"Good!" I smirked. "Better get used to it."

On the way in- was ran into Toph (-almost literally) but she stopped us before we could. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"You're here to help too?"

She grinned.

"Always."

Toph bended the princess off of her feet by surprise with Brenan and I coming in from behind to attack Azula. '_Interesting- she seems to be alone.'_

Giving a nod of acknowledgment to our friends we soon encircled the flame princess- Zuko and his uncle standing on our side. I personally didn't think this would last for long.

"Look at this…" Azula smirked as she backed into the corner. "-enemies and traitors- all working together. I'm done." She slowly put her hands up. "I know when I'm beaten. You got me. A princess surrenders with honor."

She sent a knowing look in my direction.

Without warning Azula shot a fireball at the old man with us- signaling all of us to hit her with an attack as well. I settled for rock throwing (-I had no water on my person nor was there any nearby) but Azula deflected all of our attacks with a field of fire causing a massive explosion.

When the smoke cleared- she was gone.

Zuko sat by his uncle in anguish as the old man withered in pain. We all took a step closer to see the damage clearly but Zuko lashed out at us. "Get away from us!"

"Zuko I can help!" Katara offered.

"LEAVE!" Zuko launched a fire attack slightly over our head as a warning before actually attacking us. We didn't risk it and ran away from the duo and toward Appa. My heart hurt and I felt myself turning around to look at them both one last time before joining up with my friends. '_I'm sorry Zuko...'_

Appa wasted no time in taking to the skies and flying away from the burning village and once it got dark enough enough he landed in a secluded part of a mountain ridge. We didn't even bother getting out of the saddle before falling asleep and getting the sleep we deserved.


	5. Gains and Losses

"Good morning earthbending student!" Toph yelled.

I groaned and tried to steal the blanket from Brenan. "Can it not be morning yet?'

"Good morning, Sifu Toph." Aang grinned. Brenan ended up taking the whole blanket by force causing me to roll away as he rolled himself into a blanket burrito.

"Hey-" Katara frowned. "You never called me Sifu Katara."

"Brenan!" I pushed him around but he simply rolled away. "Go study their lessons." He mumbled. "The day doesn't have to start for everyone."

Aang smiled sheepishly. "Well if you think I should Katara…"

"Shut!" Soka grumbled, glaring at the offending parties.

"But I don't want to start my day yet." I started to wrestle Brenan for the blanket but his grip was iron tight.

"Sorry snuzzles." Toph smirked. "We'll do our earthbending as quietly as we can."

Suddenly Sokka was sent flying into the sky and landed not so gracefully on top of me and Brenan. "Hey!"

Sokka made no efforts to get out of his sleeping bag as he rolled off of us and angrily grumbled...something at both Aang and Toph. Aang seemed in high spirits as he greeted us both. "Good morning Brenan- good morning Brittany!"

I yawned and rubbed my eyes, pushing myself off of the ground, accepting that I wasn't going back to sleep. "Good morning…"

"I think I could have started my day a little better." Brenan frowned. "That wasn't cool Toph- I could have slept for a little longer!"

"Don't mind him, he's always like that when he wakes up." Aang waved the brooding boy away. "So what cool move are you gonna teach me first?! Rockalanch? The trembler? Oh- maybe I can learn how to make a whirlpool out of land!"

"Let's start with...move a rock." Topg stopped his ever growing excitement.

"Aren't you guys gonna eat something?" I started rummaging through the supply bag. "It's not good to start the day on an empty stomach."

"Nah." Toph waved me off. "Not hungry."

"Yeah- ok! Let's get started!" Aang didn't even register my question- too excited to even think about anything else.

Brenan came up from behind and snatched the bag from my hands. "Yoink!"

"Dude!"

"I'm just gonna get the blueberries, hold your horses." He yawned and handed the bag back to me.

I frowned and took the bag back, settling on just a piece of bread to start the day with. "Well I'm gonna go watch then. You wanna tag along Katara?"

I seemed to have startled her out of her thoughts because she jumped when I mentioned her name. "What did you say? I didn't hear you."

"I said, do you want to go with me and watch Aang's practice. It's not like you and me would have anything better to do." I swallowed the piece of bread I had stuffed in my mouth.

She didn't answer me for a moment but came to a conclusion. "Yeah- let's go."

"The key to earthbending is your stance-" We walked in at the start of their lesson. "You've got to be steady and strong. Rock is a stubborn element. If you're going to move it-" She pushed Aang to prove her point. "-you gotta be like a rock yourself."

"That doesn't seem too hard." I whispered- finding a comfortable spot on a nearby ledge to sit on. Katara followed suite- not saying a word.

In one fluid motion, using both of her hands and one foot, Toph pushed a rock straight into the wall in front of her. "You try."

Aang nodded and went through the motions. Except he pushed himself back all the way back to where Appa was instead of moving the rock. I snickered and had to fend off KAtara as she silently defended Aang honor by head chopping me.

"Hey Giggles- how about you give it a try?" Toph challenged- a smirk in her voice. '_She only knows I can waterbend...what should I do? It's not like I've never move rock that big before either.'_ "Nevermind- you can't because like Sugar Queen over there, you can only play in the water!"

"You don't know that!" I teased back, finding my own smirk. "I may be capable of many thing you are not aware of!"

"Nevermind that!" Katara cut us both off. "I don't understand what went wrong with Aang though. He did the exact same thing that Toph did."

"Maybe there's another way." Aang ran back to the three of us. "Maybe if I can come at the rock at a different angle?"

"No-" Toph grabbed the airbender by the collar. "-that's the problem. You have to stop thinking like an airbender. There's no different angle- no clever solution- no trickity tricks that's gonna move that rock." She pushed Aang over again. "You gotta face it head on. And when I say mean head on, I mean like this!"

Toph then jumped on top of the remaining rock they had set aside for Aang and crushed it to pieces. Aang and I both jumped in surprise. Katara then ran after Toph as she left the dejected boy behind. I took that as my cue to pat the airbender on the back. "No one's a master on their first try- you'll get there."

"Yeah but how can I stop thinking like an airbender?" He rubbed his hand over his head. "It's not like I can stop being what I am."

"Well that's true but you're also the Avatar- so instead of that focus on the others." I shrugged.

"How do you earthbend?" He turned to fully face me. "You only seem to bend under extreme levels of stress but from what I can tell- it's not exactly the basic level of things."

"Do I? In that case how should I know? I don't think- I just do. In those times when I have bended...like you said I'm under stress so I just power my way through… I guess… I've never really thought about it." I played with me hair to distract myself from any form of embarrassment. "She has a point though- earth is the opposite of air right? So I don't think this'll be easy at all for you but that's hat the rest of us are here for! To cheer you on as you get better everyday!"

Aang smiled and patted me head. "You're right!"

"Ready for round two Twinkle Toes?" Toph yelled at us from the distance.

"Let's do it." The Avatar replied.

Soon enough the girl had Aang doing all sort of exercises to get him where she deemed necessary to try again- banning everyone from watching or being close to the two of them during this time so that Aang couldn't get distracted. Katara then waited with me by the campsite as we prepared for Brenan and Sokka to come back with lunch. "What do you think of Toph?" Katara hesitantly asked. "I'm glad she agreed to teach Aang but I'm not sure on how to go about being her friend."

"I think you're overthinking it." I shrugged. "I don't think she's a bad person but she's very direct and to the point. We're all still getting used to each other so it shouldn't be too bad."

"But who knows what she's doing to Aang?" Katara wilted a little. "Her teaching methods are a little...too strong."

"That might be because she's just like that. I don't think she'll try to kill him." I smiled in an attempt to calm her nerves. "Why don't we go check up on them? It's almost time to eat anyway so one peak couldn't hurt."

"Yeah-ok." She tried to smiled back.

When the two of us got there, Toph had created a large slide where she placed Aang at the bottom. "This time we're going to try something a little different. Instead of moving a rock, you're going to stop a rock. Get in your horse stance!"

Once Aang had completed the order she continued talking. "I'm going roll that boulder at you. If you have the attitude of an earthbender- you'll stay in your stance and stop the rock. Like this!"

She then dropped into the form that she wanted Aang to stop the rock with but Katara ran ahead of me to intervene before I could stop her. "Sorry Toph- but are you sure this is the best way to teach Aang earthbending?"

"I'm glad you said something." Toph paused. "There is a better way." Without missing a beat Toph took out the scarf Aang carried with his and covered his eyes. "This way you'll have really have to feel the vibrations of the boulder to stop it. Thank you Katara."

"Yeah thanks Katara.' Aang frowned and looked in her general direction.

Katara sweat dropped but didn't have enough...what's the word? Oomff?….she didn't have enough of that to even come up with an apology on the spot. Without any more delay- Toph climbed to the top of the mesa and pushed the boulder to Aang without a second thought. The seconds seemed to stretch for longer than usual as the rock came barrelling toward the boy. Right before it hit him though Aang jumped out of the way and let the boulder roll through the canyon until it crashed into one of the walls.

Enraged Toph marched all the way up to Aang and stopped when she got in his face. Aang sighed and took off the scarf so he could see again. "I guess I just panicked- I don't know what to say."

"There's nothing to say! You blew it! You had a perfect stance and a perfect form but when it came right down to it- you didn't have the guts!" She poked him in said acking of guts and made him sit down.

Aang looked up at the girl and said. "Yeah- I'm said."

"Of course you're sorry! If you're not tough enough to stop the rock then you can at least give it the pressure of smushing you instead of jumping out of the way like a jelly boned wimp!" Toph growled. "Now- do you have what it takes to face that rock like an earthbender?"

"No..." He looked down. "I don't think I do."

"That's the biggest lie you've ever said Aang!" I cried out.

Katara sighed and attempted to comfort her friend. "Aang it's no big deal- you'll take a break and try earthbending again when you're ready. Besides you still have a lot of waterbending to work on."

"Yeah- that sounds good." He got up and followed Katara away from the blind girl.

Toph crossed her arms. "Yeah whatever- splash around until you feel better!"

"Brittany, are you coming?" Katara paused and looked back to where I stood.

I looked between the two of them and slowly nodded. "I'd like to but maybe not today. I'll try to go look for Brenan and Sokka- they've been gone a while now."

Alright." Katara nodded and led Aang away again. "But don't go too far away- of anything happens come right back."

I rolled my eyes. "Yes mom."

So off I went looking for the two boys that could have gone literally anywhere with no hints whatsoever as to where they were. My search took longer than I anticipated and before I realized it, the sun was starting to set in the horizon. "I wonder if they already went back to the camp…"

"I can assure you that at least one of us didn't." I heard a voice say.

Immediately I turned around but found no one around me.

"Up here."

I looked up to find Brenan dangling by his foot from one of the trees. He gave me a lazy salute. "Fancy meeting you here."

"I have questions." I could feel the smile growing on my face. '_If only I had a camera….does this place even sell cameras?_'

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up. I'm stuck." He pouted.

"I can see that but why?"

"It's a fruit tree- I tried to get up higher when the branch I landed on broke and viola - here I am." Brenan sighed. "I've been able to hold myself up when the blood reaches my head but I can't get out on my own. Help a brother out?"

I snorted but agreed- taking my sword in the process. "If I just cut you out, can you catch yourself?"

"I can try. Just hurry! My ankle is starting to _really_ hurt and I can feel the pressure building up in my head again."

I nodded and spinjitzu-ed up onto the air and cut the branch that held my double captive. As expected he fell straight into the ground, not even bothering to soften the blow.

"Did you even try?"

"No." He groaned, slowly untangling himself from the branch. "I expected a countdown or something."

"You got yourself in that mess- don't get greedy when someone goes out of their way to help you." I held out my hand to help him up, the teasing smiled ever present on my face.

"And here I was thinking it would have been common courtesy." He gave me a soft glare. In return I rolled my eyes but not having it in me to return it- let alone drop my smile. "We come from very worlds then."

From the distance we heard a roar and the panicked yelps of both Aang and Sokka. "I guess they found Sokka."

"We should go check it out." Brenan grabbed my hand and to run for it but I guess he got dizzy from being upside down for hours because he didn't that many steps before he fell over. "How about I go check it out while you recover?"

"That's probably for the best." He groaned and sat himself down. Once I figured that he was gonna be ok, I ran toward the noise and came a little late to the party. "See…" Aang let a little fuzzy thing go." "We have no problem with you- we're friendly."

"What the heck is that thing?" I screeched and ran over to the boys. '_So Sokka also got trapped huh?'_ In front of us was a very large animal that look incredibly like a moose but had two large canines sticking out of its mouth like saber teeth.

"Aang this is bad! You gotta get me out of here!" Sokka tried to look behind him but his entrapment didn't let him. The beast then charged at Aang who in turn airbent the animal over both him and Sokka. "This isn't all that better!"

"What are we dealing with?" I ran next to Aang- letting Sokka know that I was there to help.

"It's a SaberTooth Moose Lion."

"What's with all these crazy animal hybrids?" I ran my hands through my hair and readied myself to face the animal.

"What do you mean by hybrid?" Sokka yelled. "You say that nearly every time we meet something new!"

"Aang can you take care of the animal while I get Sokka out?" I took out my pickaxe, completely ignoring Sokka and looked at the boy at my side. Without any questions the airbender nodded and took to the beast, bending it over and away from the two of us while I took to digging Soka out. After awhile the beast got tired of being thrown about and left the three of us alone. When the dust cleared- I managed to drag Sokka out of the hole and waved over Brenan who must have finally gotten a clear enough enough to see what all the ruckus was about. "Hey- you missed out on all the fun!"

"I've had enough fun for today thank you very much." Brenan grinned.

From behind there was Toph slow clapping as she sat on top of a nearby rock. Sokka blinked. "What are you doing here?"

"Just enjoying the show." She shrugged.

Aang's hands clenched into fists from the corner of my eye. "Have you been there the whole time?"

"Pretty much."

"Why didn't you do something?! Sokka was in trouble- I was in trouble- even Brittany stepped into help- you could have helped us get him and get away!" Aang yelled.

"Guess it didn't occur to me." Toph tossed a walnut on the ground and took out Aang's staff- moving to smash it.

Aang was there to stop it in an instant- stern in both posture and voice. "Enough. I want my staff back!"

"Do it now!" Toph fired back, standing up and facing Aang head on like earlier.

"Do what?" He growled.

"Earthbend Twinkle Toes." She sounded smug in her command. "You just stood your ground against a crazy beast and even more impressive you just stood your ground against me. You got the stuff."

"But-"

"Do it!"

By stomping her foot down- Toph made a rock appear out of the side cliff and gestures for Aang to launch it. He only paused for a second before taking his stance and pushing the rock as far away as he could. "You did it!" Toph cried out. "You're an earthbender!"

"I can't believe it!" Aang grinned.

"What a touching moment." Sokka smiled, shaking the dirt from his clothes.

"Good job Aang." Thumbs up from Brenan.

And from me...well. "I knew you could do it Aang."

"Can we go back now?" Sokka stretched out his body to the best his ability.

"Of course we can."

So the four of us helped Brenan and Sokka back to the campsite and met up with Katara halfway there. "Oh thank goodness you found them!"

Sokka then started to say something about being trapped in the hole but Aang cut him off to show Katara that he was now an earthbender. "Way to go Aang!" She cheered. Slowly, she turned to Toph and whispered. "You tried the positive reinforcement, didn't you?"

"Yup- worked wonders." She smiled.

"You can tell us what you were gonna say later Sokka." Brenan patted the boy on the back. "I don't know about you but I'm hungry."

"Well we should probably move from here." Toph sat down against the nearest rock. "We've been here awhile..and it's not like we're safe staying in place for long."

"Toph has a point, we'll stay one more night and we'll be on our way." Katara nodded towards the group before taking the lead back to the camp.

Brenan and I didn't add much to the conversation and simply followed the lead of the older kids. Which was how things usually went to be completely honest. No later than we planned though we were on the move again and jumped from place to place of everyone's choosing. They (Aang) called them mini vacations.

Katara picked some spring place that had seen better days. We took to the buildings under the sun and found a ransacked bartat sold some chilled fruit drinks. Sokka took the liberty of ordering for the group as Aang talked to Zane, a head professor of anthropology at Ba Sing Sey University, after the man spilled his drink on the Avatar of all people.

"So professor-" Sokka called out. "-you seem like a well traveled guy. Do you have an updated map? Ours seemed to be a little outdated."

"Certainly." The professor smiled.

It wasn't exactly what Sokka was looking for since he wanted Fire Nation material but somehow that provoked the man to go off on a tangent about some magical library of sorts. With the knowledge that this library had all of mankind's history and information- Sokka made it the groups next destination to look for ways to take down the Fire Lord.

The only problem was that no one knew where it was.

"I've made several into the sea long desert and almost died each time. I'm afraid that desert's impossible to cross." Zane sighed.

Sokka and Aang shared a look while the rest had a growing smile on our faces. "Professor would you like to see our sky bison?"

"A sky bison? You actually have one?"

"Yup!" Brenan popped the 'p'. "He's outside the settlement."

"His name is Appa- I think he'll like to meet you, come on!" Aang grinned and started moving out of the building, leading the man to where Appa was.

When we got there, there was group of people cornering our friend. The professor panicked and ran toward them. "Shoo sandbenders! Shoo! Leave sky bison alone!"

Eventually they did leave us but it seemed highly ominous as they left. Even if they didn't say anything.

We all boarded Appa and headed off wherever we felt like to find the library. It seemed like a slow process even if Appa was flying as fast as he could so it wasn't long before we got bored and tried to find a way to entertain ourselves.

"Aahhh!" Toph groaned. "Does this place even exist?"

The professor laughed. "Some say it doesn't."

"That would have been some great information to have before we started this." Brenan groaned.

"It shouldn't be that hard to spot something like that from the air." Katara mused.

"Hold on, what's that?!" Sokka pointed out to something in the distance. Intrigued we followed his line sight and had Appa take us to the random tower in the middle of the desert. When we landed, Katara took out the image to study it. "Forget it, the place we're looking for is enormous."

"What's that?" Brenan pointed to our left. I blinked and moved to where Brenan was standing. "It looks like a fox."

As it got closer, it jumped onto the tower and ran up its walls vertically until it jumped through the window at the top. Sokka was the first to break the stunned silence. "What kind of animal was that?"

"I think that was one of the knowledge seekers!" The professor exclaimed. "Oh we must be close to the library."

"Let me see that Katara." Sokka took hold of the image she had in her hands. "This is the library! It's completely buried!"

Brenan and I turned to look at each other before walking up to the tower. "That explains a lot."

"My life's ambition is completely ruined!" Zane cried out. "Time to start excavating."

"That won't be necessary." Toph stood next to me as she placed her hand on the tower. "The inside seems to be completely intact and it's huge!"

"The fox came through a window up there." Brenan mused. "Do you think we can do the same?"

"Yeah! Let's do it!" Sokka grinned. "Let's climb up there and find a way in."

"I say go on without me." Toph crossed her arms.

Katara put her hands on her hips- a defensive. "You got something against libraries?"

"I've a book before and they don't really do it for me." Toph rolled her eyes. I turned to the group and shrugged. '_It's not like she can learn through books anyway.'_

"Oh right." Katara looked away. "Sorry."

"Let me know if they have something you can listen to." The blind girl offered.

"Sounds good to me." Sokka shrugged, tying a rope to his boomerang. With that he threw up into building and successfully caught it against one of the windows. One by one they all started climbing up the tower, leaving Toph and Appa behind. As Brenan got a hold of the rope, he turned to me and asked. "Are you coming?"

I didn't bother moving toward the rope.

"I don't think so. I don't feel comfortable about this so I'll stay behind."

Brenan now hesitated. "You sure? I don't have to go with them-"

"I'll be fine." I cut him off. "It look interesting and it shouldn't be something you should miss out on."

"But what about you?"

"Someone has to keep an eye on Toph." I smirked.

"HEY!"

That seemed to put Brenan at ease as he grabbed onto the rope again. "Alright we shouldn't begame for long."

"Stay safe Brenan."

"Likewise." He ruffled my hair and started climbing while I turned heel and sat down next to Toph and Appa.

"You think I can't take care of myself. "She crossed her arms- looking in my general direction.

"Oh, I think you can. I just don't think Appa would have liked being alone with a tomboy." I chuckled.

She punch my arm.

My vision flashed red due my HP drop.

"OW!" I rubbed the spot she hit. "What was that for?"

"You're alright Giggles." She sat down on the sand and leaned back. "But why didn't you really go in?"

"Remember the sandbender from earlier?" I looked up at Appa. "They looked pretty close to cornering Appa and well...you both are both but I can't shake the feeling that something's wrong is going with them. I don't feel good leaving behind and I wasn't lying- someone has keep an eye on you."

"I'm ignoring the last line." She held her hand up, not bothering to hide the small smile on her face. "Besides I think you're worrying too much- do you really think they'll follow us all the way out here?"

"...no, not really."

"Then we've got nothing to worry about." She grinned.

I smiled as well. "Yeah- I guess you're right."

"So-" She turned to Appa. "You like flying?"

He merely scratched behind his ear.

"How about you Giggles?"

"It's alright- I don't mind it but I'm not big on free falling, y'know?" I moved my hair over to one shoulder and copied her current position.

"Honestly, I feel better on the ground where I can see." Toph brought her knees close to her chest. "Well I don't really see-" I nodded along because yes, she was blind- she can't use her eyes. "-I feel the vibrations on the ground with my feet."

"That...makes much more sense. Is that why you're always barefoot?" I looked over at her- noting as she grabbed the sand by her leg.

"Yup- but the sand is so loose and shifty, it makes everything look fuzzy."

Appa roared.

"Not that there's anything wrong with fuzzy." She quickly amended.

I laughed. "Don't take it personally Appa. We wouldn't have you any other way."

"Since we're waiting with nothing to do- mind telling me finally how my story is like yours?" Toph piped up.

I froze, feeling the heat rise to me face in embarrassment. '_Right...she caught me in the middle of crying…'_ "Well to cut to the chase- I was also hidden from the world. My...parents were dead by this time so it was just me and my older brother-"

"Brenan?"

"No other than Brenan. His name was Adam. He cared a lot about me but kept me locked up in my room because he was afraid I would get hurt. And I did. But after that he got worse and I couldn't make him worry about me anymore so I left. I figured it would be better if I took myself out of the equation. Brenan wasn't there when this happened, I'm not really sure they he was but I'm glad to see him again. He became the bigger brother I wish Adam kept being...even if I'm sure, I'm older than him."

"Sounds like you had different reasons than I did Giggles." She mused.

"Same result though." I smiled despite the sad memories swirling through my head.

Appa roared and attempted to draw us closer with his foot. Toph whined. "Nooo...I don't want to snuggle Appa."

"I do!" I grinned and shifted myself to be closer to the sky bison. "I'll snuggle with you Appa."

Won't you overheat?"

"We're in the shade and Appa wants attention- I'll be more than happy to give it." I replied, clinging to Appa's fur. It wasn't long before I was down for the count, surrounded by both warmth and pleasant company. Appa woke me up by charging away from the building. Toph seemed to have a better grip on the situation so I guess she was awake the whole time. "The library's sinking…"

"What?" I shook myself awake, trying to think of which way was up.

"THE LIBRARY'S SINKING!" She ran toward the tower and attempted to stop its movement. Now that I was thoroughly startled awake I ran with her. "What do we do?"

"Stop it!" She solidified the ground beneath her and held her ground against the tower. '_I don't know how to do this!'_ I ran my hands through my hair before deciding I should just help the poor girl. I put my hands on the tower just the same and attempted to concentrate my energy on the tower.

Appa roared again.

"Oh- what is it now?" Toph whined.

"Sandbenders!" I cried out, watching helplessly as they sent the sand around us into the air- blocking our (my) view of the sky bison. "Appa!"

"Who's there?!" Toph yelled at the people.

I growled. "Toph hold the tower!"

"Does it look like I can do anything else?"

As the people jumped out of their sandboats and ran toward Appa. "Leave him alone!"

They ignored me, taking our their sandbags and throwing them over our friend. "I said stop it!"

I spinjitzu-ed three of them onto their backsides once I got close enough but the other 3 picked up their dropped numbers and use their sandbending to get a better grip on the ropes to pull Appa down. In retaliation, I made my way to the others but was sent into the sand up until my shoulders, stopping me from moving at all. "NO!"

"Don't make me put this down!" Toph grunted.

I gasped and then spit to sand out of my mouth. "Don't Toph! They still need to get out!"

She ignored my plea and let the tower fall for just enough time to blast the sand benders.

She missed.

I tried to wiggle my way out using my own weak sandbending I practiced in Ninjago but I wasn't fast enough. The sandbenders had managed to tie Appa down before I even wiggled out to my elbow. The two of us were helpless against the attack, I had to watch them drag Appa away while Toph held the tower from sinking. "We'll get you back Appa!" I cried out to him- hoping I wasn't out of hearing range. "Stay strong! We'll see each other again!"

I ignored the tears running down my face.

Toph fired blindly as the sandbenders got away before returning to the tower. "Stop sinking!"

From above I could see our group leave through the window and land on the sand behind Toph. "They're out Toph- you can let go!"

So she did.

And was sent flying backwards, nearly crashing into Brenan in the process as the others watched in shock.

"We got it!" Sokka cried out as he stood on his feet.

"The library's gone..." Brenan started at the space, like a deer in headlights.

"There's a solar eclipes coming!" Sokka hugged Katara. "Fire Nation's in trouble now!"

"Wait, where's Brittany?" Brenan blinked out of his trance, miniking Aang's searching face.

"I'm over here!" I called out, continuously wiggling my way out. I managed to get to my mid forearm.

"Toph- where's Appa?" The Avatar walked toward the mourning girl.

We all stopped moving.

She didn't reply, merely shaking her head in the process- refusing to even turn around to face the rest of the group.

"Brittany?"

"We were ambushed."


	6. Lost in the Desert

"How could you let them take Appa?! Why didn't you stop them?!" Aang cried out.

"I couldn't!" Toph defended herself. "The library was sinking and you guys were still inside-"

"You could have come to get us!" He yelled back. "I could have saved him!"

"I can hardly feel any vibrations out here! The sandbenders snuck up on us and there wasn't time for-"

"You just didn't care!" Aang yelled right back in her face. Brenan and Katara had been helping to dig me out of the sand during this whole conversation. I was afraid to move or speak up in case Aang would turn his anger onto me instead of Toph.

"You never liked Appa- you wanted him gone!" Aang yelled out- inching ever closer to Toph's face.

"Aang stop it." Brenan growled. '_My hands are free!'_

"You know Toph did all she could." Katara paused her digging. "She saved our lives."

"Who's gonna save our lives now?" Sokka sighed. "We'll never make it out of here."

"Well then- what did Brittany do?" Aang actually turn to face me for the first time since the accident. "How much help were you when Appa needed it?"

"Back off Aang." Brenan stepped between us. "Last time I checked Toph was the only blind one here- she's out of her comfort zone, so there was only so much she could do in a place that's not her if you haven't noticed or didn't bother noticing- BRITTANY IS STILL HALFWAY BURIED BECAUSE OF THE SANDBENDERS! HO MUCH DO YOU THINK SHE CAN DO IF SHE CAN'T MOVE?"

I froze.

Actually so did everyone else, too shocked at Brenan's outburst to say anything in return for a while. None of us had ever heard him sound so angry until today.

"KEEP YOUR ATTITUDE IN CHECK AND REDIRECT YOUR ANGER ON THOSE WHO DESERVE IT! Not these two girls who did everything in their power to stop them. Right now we need cool heads and enough energy to get out of the desert." Brenan's inner leader shined through the timid crack he hid behind. "Once we know we'll be ok- we can track down Appa and get him back."

"You guys only ever care about yourselves!" Aang started to stomp away. "None of you seem to care if Appa is ok or not!"

"Of course we care about Appa but we can't help him if we die out here." I said.

Aang was solid for a solid second before he said. "I'm going after Appa."

"Aang wait!"

But he jumped away and took to the air before any of us could do anything to stop him. I sighed and tried my best to get the rest of my body out of sand with what little earthbending skill I could manage.

"We should start walking." Katara looked over to our group. "We're the only people who know about the solar eclipse. We have to get that information to Ba Sing Sey."

"Do you think if we dig out the giant owl- he'll give us a ride?"Sokka started to walk away.

"Speaking of digging out-" I cried out to the group, only having gotten to me knees before falling over. "-can I get a little help here? I'm still trapped."

"Maybe we can just pull you out now." Brenan grabbed my arm and pulled- moving me just a little before getting tired. "Sokka help me out! The faster she's out the faster we can leave!"

"On it! Brittany?" He held out his hand and helped my fake twin pull me out of my sand prison. It took a little longer than I would have liked but soon I was able to kick myself up to my feet and follow the older kids as they took the lead. No one really talked after that and frankly, I couldn't blame them. We all paused for a second once Toph asked for some water. "Ok-" Said Katara "-but we have to try to conserve it."

"Are we drinking your bending water?" Sokka asked before allowing the water ball to enter his mouth. "You used this on the swamp guy!"

"It does taste swampy." Toph deadpanned.

The water tribe girl sighed. "I'm sorry, it's all we have."

"No any more!" Sokka grinned and ran toward a single growing cactus. Without any hesitation he cut off the top and drank the "water" it provided. Grinning, Brenan and I ran after Sokka and picked up a piece of the cactus he cut up.

"Sokka wait- you shouldn't drink strange plants!" Katara called out. Suddenly Brenan's hand grabbed my wrist, stopping me from drinking the cactus water. "What?"

He only shook his head in disapproval.

"Oh come on- there's water trapped in here!" Sokka grinned. Katara grabbed hold of Toph- looking at the plant in distrust. "I don't know."

"Suit yourself- it's very thirst quenching though." He paused and started to slur his words together. "Drink cactoos jooce….is de quenchiest!"

"Ok, you've had enough." Katara took it out of his hands and poured it on the desert sand. "You two, drop that right now."

Brenan and I both looked to our hands and saw that offending plant still in our hands. At seeing the effects this plant had on my friend, I threw the rubbery plant as far away from me as I could whereas Brenan just dropped it like a hot potato.

"Can I get some of that cactus?" Toph tilted her head. '_Right...she saw nothing of that.'_

Katara picked up the fallen flying lemur off of the ground and grabbed Toph my the shoulder. "I don't think that's a good idea- come on we need to find Aang."

The earthbender pouted but allowed herself to be led away by the older girl. Brenan dutifully followed the two girls while I grabbed Sokka by his wrist and pulled him along in the back of the group. He was as nimble as a wet noodle and kept muttering things that weren't in any way correct. "It's like another Kai on the Venenari venom. We're not in the middle of the ocean Sokka." I sighed. '_This is not going to be easy.'_

"This is why I wanted you to wait." Brenan grabbed Sokka by the arm and helped me pull him along. "Sokka is a good example of a bad example- just wait to see what happens to him because he doesn't think it through."

"Thanks Brenan."

We kept walking throughout the entire day- the heat making it unbearable to even exist in our own skin. Without any warning a dustfull wind blew towards us- directing our attention to the forming mushroom in the distance. "What is that?"

"What?' Toph blinked. "What is what?"

"It's a giant mushroom." Sokka squealed. "Maybe it's friendly!"

"Let's keep moving…" Brenan looked away from the older boy clearly disturbed.

"Agreed." Katara grabbed Toph and started to lead the group again. "I hope Aang's ok."

"Giant mushroom~! Friendly mushy mushy!~" Sokka stared at the cloud- gushing over the formation. I sighed and led him away slowly only holding onto his shirt.

"How are you not freaking out over Sokka right now?" Brenan stared at where Sokka kept falling over himself. "This was so close to be us!"

"I know- but we didn't drink the cactus water." I shrugged. "Besides, a friend of mine had a similar effect once- it took hours to go away but it didn't last forever. Sokka and Momo would be back to normal soon."

"Which friend was this?" Brenan tilted his head. "One of your ninja friends?"

I nodded.

"Which one?"

"Kai- the fire one. It was funny at first but then it got annoying after a while." I shrugged again- tugging Sokka behind me. "I think it's like that- so I'm preparing myself for the long hours ahead."

Brenan rolled his eyes. "Sounds like so much fun."

I smiled but left it at that. No one said anything for hours (except Sokka- who was more than willing to fill the silence)- merely following Katara as she led the group of children through the desert, not knowing if we were even close to civilization or just walking deeper into the sand hell. Byt the time the sun was starting to set in the horizon, we saw a shadow pass over us and without any more incentive, Aang landed a little ways away from our group.

Katara was the first to react, running to the boy and hesitantly moving to stand next to him. "I"m sorry Aang...I know it's hard for you but we need to focus on getting out of here."

"What's the difference?" Aang growled, looking away from his friend. "We won't survive without Appa- we all know it!"

"Come on Aang! We can do it if we work together!" She tried. "Right Toph?"

"As far as I can tell we're trapped in a giant bowl of sand pudding." She said, kicking the sand below her. "I got nothing."

"Sokka?" Katara looked at her brother. "Any ideas on how to find Ba Sing Sey?"

"Why don't we ask the circle birds?" Sokka pointed at the creatures hovering above us.

"Do you two have any ideas?" Katara then turned to us. Brenan shook his head. I bit my lip- trying to think of something. "Do we have any paper I can use?" '_I can make a map in my inventory and maybe we can use that to get out of here.'_

"No- I gave the waterbending scrolls to the owl in the library?" Katara sighed. "And we need the scrolls Sokka took also."

"Owl?"

"I'll tell you later." Brenan sighed. "He was the reason it was sinking to begin with."

"Oh...well I don't really have any ideas on how to get out of here then but Brenan and I can build a shelter...and I have food- not a lot but it's enough for a few days."

"You do?" Brenan turned to me, shocked.

I nodded. "But other than that… I'm not really helpful here."

Katara took a deep breath- looked at each of us and suppressed tearing her hair out. "Ok, we're getting out of here- Aang get up! Everyone hold hands- we can do this! We have to."

Instinctively Brenan grabbed onto my hand while I grabbed Toph's. Brenan grabbed Sokka while Toph held onto Aang. Aang held onto Katara who once again took the lead and started marching with all of us in tow- all too aware of the creatures above us.

Once night time descended on our group, it was decided that we would stop for the night. Contrary to comedic effect, we all collapsed onto the sand- it was starting to get viciously cold.

"Katara-" I huffed. "-is there any more water?"

"It's the last of it." She sighed. "Everyone can have a little drink."

I smiled and sat up along with everyone else. Katara then opened her bending water and was about to section it off when Momo jumped through the floating puddle- nearly drinking all of it in one go. Brenan growled. "NO MOMO!"

"YOU'VE KILLED US ALL!" Sokka cried at the spilt water.

"No he hasn't." Katara rolled her eyes, picking up the liquid from the sand.

"Oh right." Sokka smiled- still loopey from the wrong water. "Bending~"

Katara handed the bottle to Toph who took a sip and passed it along. Brenan took the next hit before passing it to me. As our group drank a little- KAtara attempted to Sokka to share the scrolls he got from the library.

"It doesn't matter." Aang said to the waterbender. "None of those scrolls are tells us where Appa is."

I sighed and tired to pass the remaining water to the Avatar but was turned down. I frowned and walked over to Katara. "No…" She started. "But can figure out where Ba Sing Sey is. We can use the started to guide us- that was we can travel at night when it's cool and rest during the day."

I sat down next to her and looked at our group, already settling into the sand for the night. The girl took another deep breath. "Just try to get some sleep, we'll started again in a few hours."

I shook my head, turning my attention to the scrolls (once again in a language I couldn't read). "I'm staying up with you."

"Brittany-"

"Here." I handed her back the waterskin. She blinked but took it back. "Thank you-" I grabbed her wrist, stopping her from putting it back. "No, it's your turn. Take a sip."

"I'll be fine."

"No you won't." I adjusted myself on the sand. "Please? Just a little bit?"

Katara looked momentarily conflicted. "I don't need to drink anything right now."

"Don't- don't start." I frowned, forcing her to bring the bottle to her lips. "If we drink, you drink. We're all getting out together right?"

"Fine." She relented. "But only a little bit."

"That's all I'm asking." I smiled and watched her tilt her head back. "If you're willing to take care of me then I'm willing to take fo you too, ok? Even if I have to be bossy."

She smiled. Alright then- you know the stars?"

I shook my head. "I didn't really know that stars from back home and I don't think the ones out here are the same."

"That's too bad." She shook her head." Do rest a little Brittany. We have a long walk ahead of us."

"What about you?" I sat back.

"I'll rest in the morning- right now I gotta figure this out." She returned to the scrolls in front of her.

"But you will rest right?" I pushed a little further.

"I will."

That was enough for me to back off for a while. I settled by Brenan's side, facing him and letting my guard down. True to her word, Katara woke everyone up sometime after- ushering us to get a move on before the sun came to cook the area once more.

We all groaned and whined but eventually got up. "I'm awake." Aang said- startling the rest of us. "I couldn't sleep."

"Well we gotta get moving if we want to get out of this sand pit." Katata kneeled by his side.

Above us- a single entity in the sky blocked the moon's rays.

"Appa!" Aang sprang to his feet.

Sokka laughed. "But why would Princess Yue need Appa- she's the moon- she can fly all by herself."

"Okay- you're still on the super juice." I patted Sokka's head.

"It's just a cloud." Aang growled. Katara gasped. "Wait! A cloud! She then took off her waterskin and handed it to Aang. "Fly up there and bend the cloud into my pouch."

Aang grabbed it from her- not kindly- and launched himself into the air and toward the cloud. He managed to get most of it into the pouch before returning to our members on the ground. "Wow…" She looked inside. "There's barely any in here."

"I'M SORRY OK! IT'S A DESERT CLOUD- I DID ALL I COULD! WHAT'S ANYONE DOING?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" Aang lashed out- nearly striking Katara in the face with his staff as he pointed it at her. She took it in stride though- not bothering to raise her voice or rise to the bait for a fight. "Trying to keep everyone together." Another deep breath out. "Let's just keep moving. We need to head this direction."

This time Brenan grabbed Sokka while I grabbed Toph. We both followed Katara as Aang begrudgingly took the rear. '_It was an observation Aang..not a criticism...why'd you blow up on her like that?'_ Without meaning to, I led Toph over a rock that cause her to trip. "GAHH!"

"OH MY NOTCH! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"I'm so sick of not feeling where I'm going!" She cried. "What idiot buried a boat in the middle of the desert?!"

Ok- so not a rock.

"A boat?" Brenan ran to where we were, leaving Sokka behind.

"Believe me." She groaned, rubbing her foot. "I kicked it hard enough to feel plenty of vibrations."

Katara ran over to take a look at it and admired it for a while before giving Aang some space to move nearly all the sand from the boat- revealing all of its glory. I blinked at it before connecting the dots. "It's one of the gliders that sandbenders used."

"It's gotta a compass on it!" Katara grinned.

Brenan still walked around the structure before taking a quick glance at Aang. "I gotta get my own staff."

"Brenan, Aang you both can bend breeze to get us out of here!" Katara grinned- a new light shining in her eyes. "We're gonna make it!"

Brenan caught the same look and pumped his hands up. "Sounds like a plan! Let's do it!"

I nodded and grabbed Toph. "Come on! Let's get on!"

With no effort from the bednign boys- we all were zooming through the desert with Katara as navigator (who allowed Sokka to sit with her for the time being). Toph and I sat along the sides of the boat- she was lost in thought while I chatted with Brenan about Aang's staff, if only to keep his mind off of the brooding Avatar next to him. "The compass is pointing to that rock!" Katara cried out. "It must be the magnetic center of the desert."

"A rock?!" Toph cried. "Yes! Let's go!"

"Maybe we can find some water there!"

"Maybe we can find some sandbenders." Aang muttered.

Once we parked the vehicle - we spent the next few hours climbing the rock. Nothing but strange- goo covering tunnels were at the top. I felt sick to my stomach looking at it. "This is disgusting."

"I think my head is starting to clear up from the cactus juice." Sokka groaned. Immediately Sokka dipped his hands into the goo and ate it. "Gah! Gross! It tastes like rotten penguin meat!"

My hands flew to my mouth and I ran out of the tunnel- trying to calm my empty and disturbed stomach. "Why would you do that?!" I yelled over my shoulder- focusing on taking deep breaths. "Didn't you just learn that lesson?!"

I waited a little bit longer- ignoring the voices behind before turning around to head back in. Which didn't need to happen because everyone was running out of the tunnel and forming a circle against the creatures from earlier. "Am I going to have to ask what these things are?"

"They're vulture wasps." Katara supplied. I bit the inside of my cheek. "You know what- I shouldn't be surprised anymore."

"Toph! You nearly crushed me!" Sokka cried out, standing next to a gigantic boulder.

"I"m sorry- I can't tell where these things are in the air!" She yelled back.

"We have to get out of here." I shot a few of them down with my bow. '_To think I forgot I had this.'_

"MOMO!" Brenan seemed frantic. By the time I looked over- a vulture wasp had already gotten quite far with our friend. Aang growled. "I'm not losing anyone else out here!"

Not missing a beat- Aang launched himself after Momo as the rest of us ran down the giant rock to get to boat before the vulture wasps did. It didn't matter though- we were surrounded before long so Katara instructed Toph where to launch her rocks. I followed suit by launching own rocks with the occasional arrow half convinced that they wouldn't hesitate to eat us if they had the chance. After a few of them were taken down a large wall came up from the ground, scattering the vulture wasps. Once it was clear, in front of us stood a multitude of sandbenders just staring us down. Aang came back not long after and stood between us and the sandbenders. Slowly, they walked towards us,a leader wasn't found between them but one of them did speak up. "What are you doing in our land with a sand bending sailor? From the looks of it, you stole it from the Humming Tribe."

"We found the sailor abandoned in the desert." Katara stepped forward. "We're traveling with the Avatar."

That key phrase- I never got sick of these people's faces when they heard that for the first time.

Aang continued to merely glare at them so Katara took that as her cue to keep talking. "Our bison was stolen and we have to get to Ba Sing Sey."

"You dare accuse our people of theft when you ride in on a stolen sand sailor?!" One of them- (on the left of the first one) spoke up. I narrowed my eyes. '_He seems familiar.'_

"Quiet Gashwin!" The first one said. "No one accused our people of anything! If what they say is true- we must give them hospitality."

"Sorry father." Gashiwn said.

Toph's eyes widened. "I recognise the son's voice."

"Glad I'm not going crazy then." I replied. "He's the one that stole Appa."

"Are you sure?" Katara turned to the two of us.

Toph nodded. "I never forget a voice."

"You stole Appa!" Aang growled, stepping toward Gashwin, pointing his staff at him. "Where is he? WHAT DID YOU TO HIM?!"

"They're lying!" The guy said. "They're the thieves!"

Enraged, Aang managed to split one of the sailors in half with a single swipe of his staff. "Where is my sky bison?!"

I crossed my arms, waiting for Aang's justified anger to get through to them. He destroyed another glider. "You tell me where he is right now!"

The man turned to face his son. "What did you do?"

"It wasn't me!"

"You said to put a muzzle on him!" Toph yelled.

I growled. "And nearly buried me alive just to make me watch you drag my friend away." I don't think they heard me say that though.

"YOU MUZZLED APPA?!" Aang turned back to Gashwin. In the heat of his anger, Aang started glowing again before he destroyed another one of their gliders. "I'm sorry!" The man cried. "I didn't know it belonged to the Avatar!"

"TELL ME WHERE APPA IS!"

"I-I traded him." He sputtered out. "To some merchants...he's probably in Ba Sing Sey by now. They were going to sell him there."

Aang's rage didn't let up.

"Please- we'll escort you out of the desert- we'll help however we can!" He cried.

Suddenly the air kicked up and started swirling around the Avatar, surrounding him slowly. Brenan grabbed my wrist and lead me away from our friend while Sokka pushed Toph along and commanded the people to started running. The only one who stayed behind was Katara- slowly she made her way toward him and pulled him down from his rage induced state. Those who knew what happened exactly, stared on in pity where as Toph and I were just confused.

It was the first time I saw Aang cry.


	7. Introducing Ba Sing Se

No one talked about Appa for days for Aang's sake- he'd simply close himself off when it was brought up. It helped Aang's spirit to know though that either way both of our groups would meet up at Ba Sing Se. It was only a matter of getting there ourselves.

If Appa could hold on until then - then we were sure that all would end well.

The only irritating thing now was that Sokka and Toph both seemed to know something involving me- but didn't directly say anything. I hoped that they would eventually say something since this peek-a-boo game of 'no-I-wasn't-staring-at-you' was driving me past my breaking point. Brenan told me not to think much about it. Heck, he even caught Sokka doing it and staring teasing him, asking if he had a crush on me. He denied it of course but his stared were less frequent afterwards. Toph's however was only more intense.

Thanks to Sokka and his map reading skills- he deduced that the Serpent's Pass was the only way to get to Ba Sing Se on foot. Right as we were about to get going for the day- a small group of refugees caught up to us- one being heavily pregnant. They weren't too keen on taking Sokka's route. "You should come with us to Full Moon Bay." The husband said. "Ferries take refugees across the lake- it's the fastest way to Ba Sing Se."

"And it's hidden." Added his wife. "So the Fire Nation can't find it."

"Peaceful ferry ride or deadly pass?" Katara mused.

Sokka pouted.

Turns out our destination wasn't that far from where we were at the time. We had to pass a few hidden gates (-opened by earthbenders) before we got there but it was better than potencial death in my book. When we at last got there, the multitude of people that were waiting took us by surprise.

"I can't believe so many people have been affected by the Fire Nation." Katara frowned.

"They're all looking for a better life." Our current group leader said. "Behind the walls of Ba Sing Se."

"It's such a long line." I sighed.

Aang sighed as well. "We should step up then- the faster we get to Ba Sing Se the better."

As expected- it took forever. The lines moved fast enough though that we couldn't even sit down for a while. By the time it was out turn though we ran into a dilemma.

The lady at the desk didn't look too nice either.

"Uh- six tickets to Ba Sing Se please?"

"Passports?"

Aang looked at the rest of us in confusion. "No one told us that we needed passports."

"Don't you know who he is?" Sokka stood next to Aang. "He's the Avatar."

"I see about 50 Avatars every day and by the way- not a very impressive costume."She pointed to a nearby group of fake Avatar's- at least two of them could somewhat pass for Aang- that is if you've never seen him before. "Besides- no animals allowed. Do I need to call security?"

I blinked. "We can't bring Momo?"

"That won't be necessary." Aang stepped down.

Tpoh rolled her eyes. "My name is Toph Beifong and I'll need six tickets to Ba Sing Se."

"The seal of the golden boar." The lady gasped. "It is a pleasure to serve anyone of the Beifong family."

"It is your pleasure- as you can see I am blind." Toph then gestured to the rest of us. "And these five imbeciles are my valays."

"But the animal-"

"Is my seeing eye lemur." No room for argument then.

The lady seemed to give in. "Usually it's one ticket per passport but this document is so official- I guess it's worth six tickets."

'_I was a princess! Why didn't I get this kind of credibility?'_ I thought .'_Because I was locked away and no one here but Brenan knows who I am. Oh well..if you have it might as well use it.'_

"Thank you very much." Tpoh grabbed the tickets and led the way.

We weren't that far away when one of the guards called Sokka behind. After a few back and forth- the guard kissed him. Turns out the group knew her. "Let's talk somewhere private." She said. "I've missed you guys."

"You look so different without your makeup." Katara grinned. "And that outfit-"

"Yeah- that crabby lady makes all the security guards wear them." She shrugged. "And look at you sleeveless guy- been working out?"

Sokka grinned. "Eh- I'll grab a tree branch and do a few chin touches every now and then. Nothing major."

"Yup-" I nodded. "-and then get stuck in a hole."

"Shut!" He pushed me and put a hand over my mouth. My laughed was barely muffled under it. "Can you not tell her about that?"

"Are the other Kioshi Warriors here?" Aang asked.

She nodded. "After you left Kioshi we wanted to find a way to help people. We ended up escorting some refugees and we've been here ever since." Momo then jumped up to where she was and relished in her pets. "So brings you guys to buy tickets for the ferry- couldn't you guys just fly across on Appa?"

All of our heads went down.

"Appa is missing." Brenan said. "We hope to find him at Ba Sing Se."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." She put a hand over her heart. Turning to Aang she said. "Are you doing ok?"

"I'm doing fine." He snapped. "Would everyone top worrying about me?"

Instantly I said. "No."

"Avatar Aang!" A voice called out before Aang could respond. It was the pregnant lady from earlier. "You have to help us! Someone has taken all our belongings, our passports, our tickets- everything's gone!"

"I'll talk to the lady for you." Aang offered- ignoring the stares at this back.

The lady refused to help even when Aang asked with logic and reason behind his case. Being who he is- Aang still offered to help them get to Ba Sing Se safely...through the Serpent's Pass. Which meant that we had to give up our tickets as well. As we were reaching the exit- (Sokka's girlfriend) Suki ran up to our group, claiming that she was coming along.

No one did anything to stop her so we let it be.

It took two days on foot to get to the Serpent's Pass- the entrance not helping us by any means. "Abandon all hope."

I scoffed. "So much for a welcome party."

"How can we abandon hope?" The wife cried. "It's all we have."

"I don't know." Aang shrugged. "The monks use to say that hope was a distraction- so maybe we do need to abandon it."

"What do you mean?"

"Hope isn't going to get us to Ba Sing Se and it's not gonna find Appa." The boy stepped through the gate. "We need to focus on what we're doing right now and that's getting across this pass."

"Ok." Katara sighed. "If you say so Aang."

Suki poked my shoulder. "So you're Brenan's sister? He never said anything about you."

"We were separated when we were younger. I didn't think I would ever see him again so I wasn't talking much about him either personally." I shrugged. "I'm glad he's not alone though- it's like I'm meeting him for the first time again."

She nodded in respect to my words but asked. "So can you air bend as well or…?"

"No not air." I laughed. "I can bend water though."

"So has Katara been teaching you?"

"Yup! Sometimes it's just me and her but usually Aang is having his lesson at the same time."

"You know-" She projected her voice so the whole group could hear. "-the Fire Nation controls the western lake. Rumor had it that they're working on something big on the other side and they don't want anyone to know what it is."

The husband accidentally stepped on some loose ground as she finished her sentence, sending him falling. Toph thankfully caught him in time and shot him back up to where his wife and eldest daughter (I think(she didn't do a lot of talking)) held him tight. Unfortunately that was enough evidence to the Fire Nation ships by our side to fire at us- now that they know we were there. "They spotted us!" Sokka yelled. "Go, go, go!"

Aang took to the skies, firing back the ball of flame causing half of the ship to burn up. The other ball though- struck the side of the pass- creating an avalanche of sorts to nearly fall on Suki if Sokka hadn't pushed her out of the way. Toph than redirected the rocks so they would roll away further down the pass instead of crushing Sokka.

I ran up to catch up with the group, knowing that the three of them would be ok. Once we were out of the danger zone, we slowed to a walk and eventually set up camp on a small piece of land that wasn't just a block in length. The group was cold and the high winds made a cuddle party almost mandatory- not to mention there weren't many blankets to go around. Not that I minded, I was already used to sharing a blanket with Brenan anyway. And so (between the two of us) we settled in for the night.

When dawn broke out- we took a part our camp and headed out for the day with Aang at the head of the group. Most of the trek was done in silence until we reached a part of the pass that was completely under the water. Sighing, Katara took the lead and made us all get into a single file line. Without any cue she started to bend the water around us so that we were walking on somewhat muddy ground. "Brittany, help me out here."

I nodded and headed towards the back, closing the water behind us. Most of my focus now was on keeping the water steady- I didn't even notice when Aang jumped in to help. Suddenly a giant shadow passed us- stopping us in our tracks.

"What was that?"

**_BAM!_**

The beast crashed into our air bubble- sending water onto all of us despite our best efforts to keep the air in. Toph then took control and propelled our party of people to the top of the lake. The beast then started circling us- sending slight pin pricks of fear into our hearts. It then shot forth from the lake- screaming bloody murder and making us scream in return.

Sokka yelled. "I think I know why they call it Serpent's Pass."

"Hey Suki!" Brenan grabbed her elbow. "You know about giant sea monsters- make it go away!"

"Just because I leave near the Unagi doesn't mean that I'm an expert!" She growled.

"Oh grand and magnificent sea serpent." Sokka held up Momo. "Please accept this humble and tasty offering. Thank you."

"Sokka!" I yelled, taking Momo from his hands- holding him against my chest. "We're not offering Momo to anything! Especially a giant seahorse snake!"

Aang then shot the monster in the face without any hesitation. "I'll distract it- Katara- Brittany make sure everyone gets across."

We girls nodded and focused on freezing the water path in front of us. I made sure it was frozen all the way to the end while Katara made sure the people were steady enough to cross it. I looked behind me just in time to see Katara chase after the monster as it was closing in on Aang. I took that as my turn to make sure our group got across now that the path was done.

"Toph! Come on!" Sokka yelled. "It's just ice!"

True enough- the girl in question hadn't even left the platform. '_I was too busy focusing on our travel buddies- why did I forget about Toph?'_ I smacked my hand to my head and immediately ran towards my friend. As I got closer, I could see her put a single foot on the ice before retreating back onto the rock. "Actually I'm gonna stay on my island where I can see!"

I rolled my eyes and grabbed her hand. "I'll be your eyes then. Don't let go!"

"Nah- I'm-"

Without warning the serpent crashed behind us, making us both scream. "Ok- I'm coming!"

I nodded and tugged Toph as fast as she was willing to go which ended up behind a sort of half jog slash side step crab walk. "You're doing great Toph!" Sokka cried from the other side. "Just follow the sound of my voice!"

"It's hard to ignore!" She snapped back.

"Ok- we're halfway there Toph." I gripped her hand tighter, trying to pick up speed. "We're so close- you'll be able to see again soon."

"Ok- I trust you." Toph nodded.

"Oh Notch." I gasped- seeing the serpents tail come down right before it hit. '_We can't get to the other side in time.'_ "Don't let go Toph!"

The crash sent the ice around us to shatter and spread out in any direction possible. Toph's scream was drowned out by the water rushing in my ears as I started sinking. Out hands were disconnected on the process while I tried to fight the current pulling me down and Toph tried to stay float. In the distance I could see Suki jump into the water and start swimming towards us, getting closer by the second. In a split moment decision I managed to grab Toph by her foot and pull myself to wrap my arm around her waist. With my other hand I re-froze the water underneath us and made a small platform in front of us so Suki could climb up. Instantly I started coughing up the water that made it into my lungs- ignoring Suki's questioning in preference of being able to breath again. Toph-" I managed. "You ok?"

"You saved my life." She breathed up- completely fine just wet and fighting off the adrenaline rush.

I nodded and allowed Suki to help me stand up. "Of course- we're friends but that doesn't answer my question."

" 'm ok."

"Good." I bended the water in front of us to create the ice path once more. "Let's keep going."

Suki led Toph by the hand this time as I focused on my job to fix what was broken. Once we made it across Brenan instantly latched onto me, despite me mutterings of being fine- just soaked. When it was clear that we were then simply spooked and in need of drier surrounding- those on land created some distance between us and the water. In the distance we could see Aang and Katara send the snake into the mountain range across from us- effectively letting it know to leave us alone. We cheered as Aang and Katara flew ahead of us just to land knowing that it was probably the last of the danger. Honest. The rest of the walk went by fairly quickly- only taking the span of another days' worth of travel before we reached the other side. "There's the wall!" Brenan cried as we touched base with the end of the Serpent's Pass. I gaped in awe. "It must be huge to be able to see it from all the way out here!"

"Of course it is!" The wife said, before hunching over in pain. "Oh no!"

"What's wrong?"

"The baby's coming!" She instantly looked frantic. Her husband and other daughter helped her sit down on the floor.

"What's gonna happen?" Brenan bit his lip. "Is it ok for the baby to be born outside?"  
I mimicked my brother's nervous habit. "Anything we can do to help?" Now I had no idea what was about to happen but I knew I didn't want to be standing idoly.

"Come on guys." Katara stepped up. "I've help Gran Gran deliver lots of babies back home."

"This isn't the same as an arctic seal!" Sokka cried. "This is a real! Human! Thing!"

"It's called a baby." She deadpanned. "And I've helped her deliver plenty of those too. Aang- get some rags. Brittany- go get some water."

I nodded and ran off in the direction of the lakes- with nothing to carry it in. I only realized this the second I reached my destination. "Here-" Sokka handed his water skin to me. "-Katara sent me after you. She probably doesn't want me nearby."

I giggled. "I don't blame her- thanks!"

I then bended the liquid into the skin, making sure to fill it with as much water as it was able to carry. "So-" Sokka started. "-I have a question."

"Brittany- where's that water?" Katara yelled out.

I grimace. "Sorry Sokka- but to's going to have to wait." I ran all the way back to where Katara had Toph make an earth tent. When I went inside, my hand instantly flew my cover my eyes. "You're doing great Ying- now get ready to push." Katara said.

I slowly walked to where Katara was only looking through my hand to watch where I stepped. "Here you go Katara."

She then turned to me and took the water skin from my hand. "Thanks Brittany- just go wait outside ok?"

I nodded and ran out of the tent to where the others were waiting. Aang and Brenan sat on one side of the door while Toph and Sokka sat on the other. '_Suki must have been inside- I can't believe I missed her'_ I started making my way to sit beside Brenan when Sokka stopped my cold in my track. "Look- you can earthbend. Can't you Brittany?"

My blood ran cold.

Everyone else then looked in my direction, waiting for my reply.

I gulped.

"What do you mean?"

"While we were in the desert you were launching rocks with a little more force than possible if you only used your hands or if you only kicked it." Sokka pointed out.

_'I wasn't that obvious, was I?'_ "I don't know what you're talking about."

"No-" Toph spoke up now. "-you do know what we're talking about."

"We?" My voice went up.

"You were bending sand in the desert also, weren't you?" Toph tilted her head. "That's how you could get yourself out so quickly- I felt it."

I stayed quiet.

Sokka looked at the other two boys behind me. "Did you know?"

"Of course Brenan knew." I cut in. " And...Aang wasn't supposed to know either but I blew my cover."

"So he does know." Topg nodded. Sokka sputtered. "Does Katara?"

"...yes."

"When was I gonna know then?" Sokka crossed his arms.

I started to shrink away. "Maybe when I got better control over it but no one was supposed to know period."

"Leave her alone Sokka." Aang stood up, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"No-" Sokka stood up as well. "-you knew! You can't say anything here! Why didn't you say something?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell." Aang frowned. I started to hide behind the shorter boy- hoping he could calm the older boy down.

"At least tell me how long you've known."

"Since the path to Omashu." Aang sighed.

"Sokka please don't be mad." I bit my finger to stop my ever building tears. "It's not something I can control as easily as water- even if it were up to me no one would know at all. I've been looked at as a freak for having pink hair by so many people as it is...I don't need give people another reason."

Toph rolled her eyes. "Look I get not telling me, I'm the newest one- we're not there yet. To bend more than one element and not be the Avatar is a little freaky. But you've already shown a knack for fighting in more ways than I thought possible so I shouldn't be as surprised as I am. I'm not going to have to teach you too, am I?"

"Only if you want too." I shrugged- letting my nerves show on my face through my force smile. "I did think about asking but after seeing how you teach Aang- I chickened out."

"Stop- are you serious?" Soka ran a hand down his face. "Can Brenan double bend also?"

I jumped and turned to the pink haired boy behind me. I knew that panic was written all over my face. The boy in question merely took a deep breath- not bothering to even look in our direction.

"Yes."

"Oh my gosh!" Sokka cried out. "Are you kidding? Is this happening? Brenan?! Why?! We've known each other longer!"

"It's a girl!" Katara cried from the tent.

"Are you guys gonna go see the baby or keep arguing like them?" Toph jutted her thumb in the direction of the entryway.

"No, no, we're cool. "Sokka took in a deep breath. "We're cool, everything's cool. I'm just… I don't know...hurt? I thought we were better friends than this but I get it, I don't bend, I wouldn't understand."

"That's not why at lall Sokka!" I yelled barely able to contain my emotions but he already went into the tent. Aang and Toph followed not long after.

Brenan leaned against the rock and ran his hands through his hair. "You messed up that long ago huh?"

I gulped and started to play with the hem of my shirt. "It wasn't supposed to happen but when the cave collapse and we were separated- I panicked….it only seemed to happen when I'm panicking or stressed."

"I can't believe this."

"I'm sorry."

"You guys have to see this." Katara cut us off, inviting us into the tent.

**'We're not done.'**

_'I know.'_

"She sounds healthy."

"She's beautiful."

"She's so squishy looking."

I blinked and walked around Suki to see the baby Ying (the wife) held in her arms. When I got as close as I thought was appropriate, I dropped to me knees. "She's small."

The man then turned to his wife and asked. "What should we name her?"

"I want our daughters name to be unique- to mean something." She said.

"I've been going through a tough time lately." Aang stepped forward- wiping his eyes. "But you've made me hopeful again."

"We should name her Hope then." Ying said. '_It's not that unique though...not where I'm from anyway…'_

"That's a perfect name...Hope…"

Brenan then grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the tent. "We should give the family some privacy."

Slowly the others trickled out but Brenan led me further away from them. I stared at him- waiting for him to start talking but instead he gave me a weak hug. "I want to be mad...and I know that I am to a degree….about my secret, how it's now out in the open. But we both panicked that day...it was when the cave collapse, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

He said. "And I know that you can't really control it but I don't… Aang's been telling me a lot about the monks. I shouldn't stay mad." He struggled to continue talking so I decided it was about time I hugged him back. "They didn't ask what other element you bend, Brenan. I think you'll be fine."

"I hope you're right." Brenan sighed and let me go."

"Brittany! Brenan!" Let's go!" Katara yelled at us as Aang took to the sky.

"Where's he going?" I called back, running to the group.

"He's going to find Appa." Toph ruffled my hair. "So you and I can 'talk' all you want."

"He's going to Ba Sing Se without us?" Brenan asked, waving to the boy in the sky.

"We'll just meet him there." Katara supplied and helped Brenan and I to pack the stuff. I tried to look for Sokka in the hurry to catch up with Aang but he was too busy kissing Suki so I figured that my apologies would just have to wait.

Suki ended up leaving our group behind as we left for Ba Sing Se- wishing us safe travels and luck to find Appa. We had only walked in semi-tense silence (on my end anyway) for the few hours before Aang swooped down in front of us. "Aang-" Katara blinked. "I thought you were going to look for Appa."

"I was but something stopped me." He said. "Something big."

With the combined efforts of both Toph and Aang, we made it to the wall in record time- only to be lifted up towards the top as the earthbenders willed the group under our feet to send us upwards. I hung around the back of the group, too ashamed to really make myself present. Brenan was the first the break the silence as he watched our ascent. "What's so big that Appa had to wait?"

"That."

Sure enough- once we got high enough we could see the threat in the distance. It was a huge cylindrical machine that was slowly coming toward the wall with little (huge) tanks that flanked its sides.

"We made it to Ba Sing Se and we're still not safe." Ying held her baby closer- looking to her husband. "No one is."

'_They're just as persistent as Garmadon.'_ I sighed.

"What are you people doing here?" A guard cut in. "Civilians are not allowed on the wall."

"I'm the Avatar." Aang said. "Take me to whoever is in charge."

Sure enough our group was now split- with Ying and her family being escorted while the rest of us were sent to the general in charge of the troop facing the soon to be active drill. "It is an honor to meet you young Avatar." The general said. "But your help is not needed."

"Not needed?" Aang frowned.

"Not needed." He repeated. "We have to situation under control. I assure you the Fire Nation could not penetrate this wall. Many have tried-" He was now leading us to view the front lines. "-to break through it but none of them have succeeded."

"What about the Dragon of the West?" Toph spoke up. "He got in." '_That name sounds familiar…'_

"W-well...technically yes but he was quickly expunged." The guy refuted. "Nevertheless- it's why the city is named Ba Sing Se- it's the impenetrable city."

I tugged on Katara's sleeve. "What does expunged mean?"

"Later."

"They don't call it Na Sing Se." The general laughed. "That means penetrable city." '_That doesn't answer my question.'_

"Yeah thanks for the tour." Toph said. "But we still got the drill problem."

"Not for long." The general walked toward to edge of the wall. "I've sent an elite platoon of earthbenders called the Terra Team.

"That's a good group name." Sooka pointed out. "Very catchy."

"Now he's gonna think of a name for us." Brenan muttered before turning to me. "Just watch."

"We're doomed!" The general cried, startling us out of our thoughts. Toph sighed. "Maybe you would want to Avatar's help now?"

"...yes please…"

Aang nodded in response and called us all toward the wall. "Now the question is how are we going to stop that thing?"

Slowly we all turned our heads towards Sokka.

"Why are you looking at me?"

"You're the idea guy."

He crossed his arms. "So I'm the only one who can ever come up with a plan? That's a lot of pressure."

"And also the complaining guy." Katara quipped.

I looked over the railing and slowly saw the earthbenders go down one by one.

"That one I don't mind." Sokka said.

"We might have to take it down from the inside." I tilted my head. "They can't get through the metal so it looks like our best bet."

"They're bringing up the fallen now." Brenan pointed to the people headed for what looked like a healing bay.

"We should go help." Katara grabbed my hand and ran with me to the people. "You can practice your healing this way."

I nodded and simply followed her lead- letting her take the reigns and walk me through the steps. The water glowed under my hands as I focused on finding rips of tears or any other abnormalities in the man's body but the energy the man gave off seems blocked. It was new to me, I wasn't sure what I was feeling. "What's wrong with him?" The general asked. "He doesn't seem physically injured."

"His chi is blocked." Katara said- working on the man's arm. '_So that's what this is!'_ "Who did this to you?"

"Two girls ambushed us." The man said. "One of them hit me with a bunch of quick jabs and suddenly I couldn't earthbend...and I could barely move… then she cartwheeled away."

"Ty lee." I muttered. "They're back."

"She doesn't look dangerous but she knows that human body and its weak points." Katara mused. "It's like she takes you out from the inside."

"Brittany! Looks like we're using your idea nyway!" Sokka cried. "I have a plan."

"We've got to hit the pressure points!" Toph grinned.

"We need to get down there." Aang looked out the window. A ledge then appeared right below it- Toph not bothering to hold her smirk back said. "Let's go then."

We all hopped on and waited for our cues in the plan.

"Once I whip up some cover-" Toph said. "- you're not gonna be able to see so stay close to me."

Without any warning she jumped out of our ditch and caused a big enough explosion of rock and dust to cover us up until we reached the drill. "RUN!"

We took off.

Staying close as group, we had Toph in the lead getting as close to the drill as possible before the dust cleared. Once it cleared though- she had us jump into a hole in the ground and closed it behind us. "It's so dark in here." Sokka said. "I can't see a thing."

"Oh no!~" Toph verbally rolled her eyes. "What a nightmare."

"Sorry."

When we surfaced again, we were right under the drill and immediately started looking for entrance points. "There!" Brenan pointed.

Aang then hopped on the bar and helped us jump onto the drill, one by one until only Toph was left. "Toph- come on!"

"No way am I getting into that metal trap." She said. "I can't bend in there- I'll try to slow it down out here."

"Ok." Sokka nodded. "Good luck."

"I need a plan of the machine." He continued once we were further inside. "Some schematics or something that shows what the inside looks like- then we can find its weak points."

"We could just cause an explosion." I shrugged. "A lot of them. Maybe pressurize the boiler- this thing has to be powered by something."

"How do you know this stuff?" Brenan raised an eyebrow.

I didn't bother looking in his direction. "Ninjago was almost always being attacked- I wasn't really part of the fight but you learn quickly- especially if you eavesdrop."

Suddenly Sokka cut off the top of a pipe- letting the steam fill the air. "What are you doing?! They're gonna hear us!" Aang cried.

"Exactly." He smirked. "Brittany has a point- a machine this big has to have engineers to run it, so when something breaks-"

"They come to fix it." Katara's eyes widened. "We should hide."

So we did.

Soon enough a man came walking up to Sokka little mishap, clearly holding a piece of paper in his hands. Katara then concentrated the steam around us and froze the man in his place. Brenan than ran up to him and took the paper from his hands- returning to the group as we made our get away. "Here you go Sokka."

He nodded and took the map- leading us away to a more secluded place to study it. "It looks like the drill is made up of two main structures- there's the inner mechanism where we are right now and the outer shell. The inner part and the outer part are connected by these braces- if we cut through them, the entire thing will collapse!"

We nodded. A solid plan was a solid plan.

So we made our way to the outer shell and started to look for a way to get to the beams. "It looks a lot thinner on the diagram." Sokka sighed once they came into view. "We're going to have to work pretty hard to cut through them."

"What's with this 'we' stuff?" Katara crossed her arms. "You're the only one not able to cut through them."

"I'm only the plan guy. You guys are the, cut stuff with your waterbending guys."

"What about me then?" Brenan frowned. "I can't waterbend."

"Oh...my points still stands. Together we're Team Avatar!"

"Told ya~" Brenan nudged my shoulder.

"Ok gang-" I sighed. "Wait...GAang?"

Sokka then flopped onto the ground. "Why didn't I think about that?"

I shrugged and took out my diamond sword. '_It's been a while Betty.'_ I then started cutting into the side of the pillar.

"You're not going to waterbend?"

"It'll be faster this way." I said. I then swung at the pillar and watched as it cut through the metal, leaving behind slightly melted and scorched lines. I paused and looked at the group around me. "What?"

"It'll definitely be faster now."

And so I started hacking away at the pillar while Katara and Aang sliced through it on the other side. By the time the pillar was fully cut through- it only rumbled a bit and slid down about two feet before coming to a stop. "It's gonna take too long to cut through them all- it'll reach the wall by then."

"I don't know how many of those I can do." Aang sat down.

Suddenly the entire machine started to rumble and shake. Our eyes widened. "It's done! We need to get out of here!"

"Congratulations crew!" A voice said. "The drill has made contact with the wall of Ba Sing Se! Start the countdown to victory!"

My shoulders slumped with tiredness before I looked at the older kids around me (so not Brenan). "Do you think Toph is ok?"

"She can handle herself." Katara said. "But this bad...really bad."

"Maybe we don't need to cut all the way through." Aang stood up. "Toph has been teaching me that you shouldn't put one hundred percent of your energy into one strike. You have to be quick and accurate, hit a series of points and break your opponent's stance. When he's reeling back- you deliver your final blow and hie weight becomes his downfall...literally!"

"So we just need to weaken the braces instead of cutting all the way through." Katara smiled.

"And then I'll go to the top of the thing and deliver the final blow." Aang smiled back.

"Cool plan- what about me and Brittany?" Brenan put his hands on his head. "Where do we fit in?"

"Do you think you guys can create a distraction?" Aang looked as us. "Can you keep them focused on something other than the wall?"

"Definitely." I grinned. "I already have an idea- come on Brenan!" I then grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind me as we ran into the drill. "Any idea where the boiler is?"

"You're really going to go through with that?" He blinked.

I nodded. "It's been a while since I've blown something up or I've something blow up with potential flames. Aang wants a distraction- so let's give the best one we can."

"You're dangerous, you know that?"

"Yes."

"No one's going to get hurt, are they?"

"As long as no one is nearby then yes." I lead him into the lower back of the drill. "If I'm right then the boiler should be here, at least in this area of the drill." When I managed to get to the area where the people were in charge of the energy- it was filled with people manning the boilers in that area. "Darn."

"That' a lot of people to get by." Brenan bit his lip.

I blinked and took out an invisibility potion from my inventory. I then gave it to Brenan and took out another for myself. "I still want to go through with it but plans have changed. Drink that and only take out one boiler here. Just close the valve so the pressure builds up." I added when I saw his confused look. Taking a swig of the potion, I had my sword handy for what I now had planed. "I'm going to destroy the destroy the others."

Once the potion had taken effect I ran down the line of boilers with my sword out- cutting through the pipes as I ran past them, building a cover of steam and rendering each boiler I passed useless since the energy could now not be transfered. In the distance an explosion was heard along with the cries of people both in confusion and anger, luckily only one seemed to be in pain so casualties are low. "Brittany!" Brenan cried.

"Lets go!" I then ran out- hoping Brenan would notice a shift in the steam and follow me. "No one was supposed to get hurt!"

I sighed. "It's just hot water- he won't die. And it wasn't scripted. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one else got hurt- they're just mad."

"Promise?" I heard his footsteps echo mine so I knew he was close. "I can't." I said. "Because I didn't see exactly what happened but I can promise that no onw will die, ok?"

"It'l have to do." He sighed.

"Sorry to make you do that." I added.

Suddenly a flurry of orange passed the both of us- somehow not crashinginot either of us. "Was that Aang?"

"Final blow time! Time to get out!"

The effect of the potion was now slowly fading away so my limbs were now slightly transparent- Brenan was as well so I could be relieved at least to know that he was truly close to me. "Any idea how we get out?"

I shrugged and kept running. "The way we came?"

"You remember where that is?"

"Nope."

"Great."

Instead we ended up finding a panel on the side of the drill that was loose enough to be knocked away. I gulped at the sheer height we would have to jump. To my side- Brenan took a deep breath and s a step back. "I'll jump first and when I land- I catch you but only when I say so, ok?"

"I don't think I can do this Brenan." I bit my lip.

"Don't you trust me?"

"I do but-"

"Then leave it all to me."

Then he had the audacity to jump.

Sure enough he managed to catch himself before he hit the ground with his airbending. Once he had touched the ground he turned to me and gave me a thumbs up. "You've got to be kidding me."

I sighed and gave it a running start before shutting my eyes and quite literally putting my life in Brenan's abilities. Sooner than I anticipated the air started to slow around me before only swirling underneath me. That's when I realized that Brenan had successfully caught me. I stretched my legs out and touched base with the planet once again since Brenan was two second away from just dropping me on the ground. "Thanks."

"Good to know you trust me." He grinned and ruffled my hair. I smiled at him and trapped his hand on my head. "Why wouldn't I trust my brother?"

"Look! There goes Aang!" Brenan pointed to the wall just in time for me to see the ball of air he used to get up the wall disappear. "We're going to have to move, aren't we?"

"Run."

So we turned on our heels and ran as far as we could away from the drill. One by one the sections of the drill exploded- sending muddy wall water up and over itself. I turned around just in time to bend the muck over the two of us so we'd stay dry and clean. "This looks disgusting."

"At least it doesn't smell."

The drill then started to collapse in on itself- effectively destroying any chance of being repaired at least for a very long time. "WE DID IT!"

"We have to find everyone else." Brenan looked around us and asked. "Think you can bend us a way out of the sludge?"

"Oh sure." I then threw aside all of the muck in our way and waited to see if any of our group members would come out. Brenan then suggested that we head back to the top of the wall and wait for our friend there. It took awhile to get on top but eventually we all arrived and reconvened with each other- watching the sun set over the horizon knowing that the stronghold of Ba Sing Se would still be safe. "We did great out there Team Avatar!" Sokka grinned.

"I thought we were going with GAang." I tilted my head and looked at the boy.

"Enough with the Team Avatar stuff." Katara crossed her arms "No matter how many times you say it, it will not catch on."

"Can we will be call The GAang?" Brenan asked. "It's got Aang in it?"

"I actually like that one." The Avatar shrugged. "I think it's clever."

"Let's talk about this on our way into the city." The waterbender offered- leading the way into Ba Sing Se.

"Oh and Brittany?" Sokka stopped me, letting the others get ahead. "I'm not mad anymore ok? I know it hasn't been easy for you- especially since you're with us, with losing Brenan, and having no idea where your parents are- it's the same reason why Brenan didn't say anything from the start, huh?"

"You could say that."

"That's fine but you have to spar with me more as payback- we haven't done that in forever and I think you're the only other one with a sword I can practice with."

"That's fair."


	8. Welcome to Ba Sing Se

The train into Ba Sing Se was longer than any of us anticipated. Brenan took into account all the events that had just happened to us and decided that he should reward himself with a nap. Once we reached the inner wall- I attempted to shake Brenan awake while watching the giant citypass by us. '_I don't know how we'll find Appa in all of this.'_

"Back in the city." Toph groaned. "Great."

"What? It's amazing." Sokka grinned.

"It's just a bunch of walls and a bunch of rules." She rolled her eyes. "You'll get sick of it- just wait."

"What now?" Brenan yawned- taking his sweet time to fully wake up. From my left I saw Aang take out his whistle and use it. "He's here- I can feel it. I'm coming for you buddy."

"Hello~" A new voice said.

We turned to face the newcomer who seemed to be a simple Earth Kingdom civilian...her smile was wider than I would have liked though.

"My name is Ju Di. I have been given the great honor of showing the Avatar around Ba Sing Se. And you must be his companions- Sokka, Katara, Brenan, Toph and Brittany. Welcome to the city. Shall we get started?"

"Yes." Sokka grabbed his bag protectively. "We have information about the Fire Nation that we need to get to the Earth King immediately."

"Great- let's begin our tour. Then I'll show you to your new home here. I think you'll like it." Ju Di turned around and started walking away- completely ignoring Sokka's claim, no matter how important it actually was.

"Maybe you missed what I said." Sokka marched right up to her. "We need to talk to the king about the war. It's important."

The woman just continued smiling. "You're in Ba Sing Se now. Everyone is safe here."

No other reaction was given.

**'That's creepy.'**

I nodded to Brenan- who seemed fully awake and alarmed but made no verbal or written reply.

With no other choice we followed the lady in a carriage which paraded around the city- starting at the lower class and making our way up. "This is the lower ring." She began.

"What's that wall for?" I asked, looking out the window.

"Oh~ Ba Sing Se has many walls- there are the ones outside that protect us and the ones inside that maintain order. '_Cages.'_

"This is where the newest arrivals." Ju Di continued. "As well as our craftsman and our artisans, people that work with their hands- it's so quaint and lively."

We then passed a guy with a giant sword- his companions and him glared at us as they noticed us looking.

"You do have to watch your step through."

"Why do they have all these people blocked off from the rest of the city?" Katara mused.

"This is why I was never here before." Aang admitted. "I've always heard that ti was so different from how the monks taught us how to live."

The tour then continued without much conversation until we reached those in the city who were considered the middle class (if their better houses and street conditioned were anything to go by). Ju Di then took the initiative to start talking again. "This is the middle ring of Ba Sing Se. Home to the financial districts, shops and restaurants and the university."

"We met a professor from the Ba Sing Se University." Brenan said out loud- passively looking through the window.

Sokka followed up. "He led us to an underground library where we discovered information about the war that is absolutely crucial for the king to hear." He said that whole thing in one solid breath that I'm surprised he didn't gasp for air at the end of it.

"Isn't history fascinating?" Was her reply. "Look there's one of the oldest building in the middle ring- Town Hall."

With that she got out of a carriage leaving us behind.

"Is that woman deaf?" Sokka turned to look at us. "She only seems to hear every other word I say."

"It's called being handled." Toph spoke up for the first time since we started. "Get used to it."

"She creeps me out." I admitted. "She doesn't once stop smiling and it's too big to be natural it's like someone is watching her."

"Maybe she's just trying too hard to make us feel welcome." Katara shrugged. "We won't be here for much longer anyway."

Ju Di then hopped back into the carriage and the tour resumed. It was another twenty something minutes before the spaces between the houses grew larger and the buildings were larger and better looking. "This is highest ring- it's home to our most important citizens- your house is not too far from here."

We soon passed a giant red building with a large wall surrounding it. "What's in that wall?" Brenan pointed out. "It's different from all the others."

"And who are those mean looking guys in robes?" I looked over Brenan's shoulder.

"Inside is the royal palace- those men are agents of the Dai Lee- a cultural authority of Ba Sing Se. They are the guardians of all our traditions. "Ju Di smiled again.

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Can we go see the king now?"

"Oh no!" She laughed. "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King!"

I sighed- feeling the waves of dejection roll off of everyone else. "So we need an appointment? Ot we waiting for some kind of summons of sorts?"

"The Earth King will see you, when he will see you."

"That doesn't sound very reassuring." Brenan muttered.

"Here we are!~" Ju Di called the carriage to a stop. "Your new home!"

We all took a step forward as a man ran up to the woman and handed her a scroll- assumedly, a letter. "More good news." She grinned some more. "Your request for an audience with the Earth King is being processed and should be through in about a month...more quickly than usual."

"A month?!"

"Six to eight weeks actually." The lady replied before ushering us inside and allowing us the meander around. "Isn't is nice? I think you'll enjoy it here."

"I think we'd enjoy it more if we weren't staying for so long." Sokka said. "Can't we see the king any sooner?"

"The Earth King is very busy running the greatest city in the world." More grinned from the lady. "But he will see you as soon as time permits."

"IF we're going to be here for a month, we should spend our time looking for Appa." Aang looked out one of the front windows.

"I'd be happy to escort you anywhere you'd like to go." Ju Di bowed in his direction.

"We don't need a babysitter." Toph got up from her spot and walked toward out "tour guide".

"Oh I won't get in the way." She dismissed Toph's comment. "And to leave you alone would make me a bad host. Where should we start?"

We started off with the nearest pet shop- more info gathering than actually looking. It had the bizarrest looking creatures. Momo was scared off from eating the food of an owl cat and dozens of little lizard mice scurried on the floor. And that was just the front room!

"I'm sorry but I haven't heard anything about a flying bison." The store owner said. "I didn't know there were any."

I moved away from the owl cat to actually listen in on the conversation. Aang then said. "If someone wanted to sell a stolen animal without anyone knowing- where would they go?"

"Where's the black market?" Soka barked. "Who runs it? Come on- you know!"

The man then started to visibly sweat bullets as he locked eyes with our tour guide. She moved her head side to side and I pretend not to notice. '_Strange indeed...maybe she is being watched.'_ "That would be illegal." He settled on saying. "And you'll have to leave now- your lemur is harassing my sparrowkeets."

I sighed and removed Momo from where the food was, heading out of the shop first and then following them back into the carriage. Our next stop was the university. After telling one of the scholars our story he gave his reply as follows. "I've never seen any sandbenders or nomads around here. You should talk to Professor Zane. He teaches a class on desert cultures."

"Right…" Sokka put his hands on his hips, knowing that Professor Zane is long gone. "And which of your professors can we ask about the war with the Fire Nation?"

"Ummm…" More bullet sweating- more head shaking from the tour guide- Sokka almost caught her on that one. "I'm not a political science student- I have to get to class."

The poor kid tried to get up but he left in such a rush that he tripped and dropped his papers. '_He seems scared…'_

We were only allowed outside for so long I suppose because Ju Gi dropped us right at our door once again. "I'm sorry no one has seen your bison. Why don't you just get some rest? Someone will be over with dinner later."

Then she was finally gone.

From across the street we could see one of our new neighbors spying from his window. As he retreated, Sokka lead our group to his door and knocked politely. A nice old man (the eavesdropper) opened the door not long after and smiled. "You're the Avatar! I heard you were in the city. I'm Pong."

Aang smiled back. "Nice to meet you Pong."

"So Pong-" Sokka started. "-what's going on with this city? Why is everyone so scared to talk about the war?"

"War?" Shifty eyes. "Scared?" More shifty eyes. "What do you mean?"

"I can feel you shaking." Toph deadpanned.

Pong then started to whisper in response. "Look- I'm just a minor government official. I've waited three years just to get this house- I don't want to get into trouble."

"Get in trouble with who?" Katara asked. Subtly, I felt Brenan's hand snaking over my wrist before grabbing it. The sudden urge to run was felt by both of us it would seem.

"Shh! Shh! Listen, you can't mention the war here." Pong explained. "And whatever you do- stay away from the Dai Lee."

Then he slammed the door in our faces.

The remainder of the night was split dividing the rooms and resting until morning came. As usual Brenan and I were the last ones up and helped ourselves to whatever food was left over for our breakfast. Katara suddenly yelled- startling us both. "I got it! I know who we're going to see the Earth King."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Toph shrugged. "One doesn't just pop in on the Earth King."

I cringed as her imitation of Ju Di. "Please don't do that again- I never wish to see her again."

"The king is having a party tonight for his pet bear." Katara explained.

"You mean his platypus bear?" Aang piped up from his spot on the railings.

"No...it just says bear."

"Certainly you mean his pet skunk bear." Sokka looked over.

Topg shrugged. "Or his armadillo bear?"

"Gofer bear?" Aang said.

"Are you telling me-" I stood up after swallowing my food. "-we're going to see a normal animal? No hybrid...like the ones you've just named- good notch, why are there so many?"

"Just bear."

"FINALLY!" Brenan cried. "An animal we're used to! I bet it's a black bear!'

"No, I bet it's a grizzly bear!" I sat back down. "I'm willing to bet my next dessert on it."

"You're on!"

"You guys...are weird." Toph said. "To be fair- this place is weirder."

"Guys listen-" Katara tried to reign us in again. "-te place will be packed. We can blend in with the crowd."

Toph threw herself back into the pillows on the ground. "Won't work."

"Why not?"

"Well no offence to you simple country folk but a real society crown could spot you a mile away."

Brenan and I shared a look.

"You've got no manners." Toph pointed at the older girl.

"Excuse me?" Katara challenged. "I've got no manners? You're not exactly lady facy fingers."

"But she chooses to be like that." I piped up. "She was still taught though, just like I was, so it's no big deal to pull those lessons up again. Where as you… well… no one ever taught you."

"You too huh?" Toph looked in my direction. "Important family?"

"Something like that." Brenan and I said in unison.

"If you've learned it-" Sokka cried out. "-you could teach us!"

Aang shrugged in agreement. "Yeah- I'm mastering every element. How hard can manners be?"

Us "twins" winced.

"Good evening Me. Sokka Watertribe." Aang took down a random curtain to use as a cloak. "Ma. Katara Watertribe- Lord Momo of the Momo dynasty- your Momoness and hello to you as well The Twins of...of...where are you from gain?"

"Minecraftia."

"Yes- there- that."

"Avatar Aang- how you do go on." Sokka copied the boys actions. The two of them started to have a bow off before they smacked each other in the head.

"Katara and the twins might be able to pull it off but you two would be lucky enough to pass as buss boys." Toph stood next to the water tribe girl.

"But I feel so fancy." Sokka whined.

"Do you think a party of four might be too much?" Brenan leaned back. "Our customs might not be the same anyway- Toph and Katara should go in and Brittany and I can sneak our way through."

"How are you going to do that?"

"When I reunited with Brenan, I just got back from hanging out with ninjas, remember? Worse case scenario- we break something. I have a plan don't worry." I smiled. '_Invisibility potions...glad I still have you!~'_ With the plans in motion, Toph took Katara to a seperate part of the house while the rest of us waited for time to pass. When night fell on the land Toph and Katara came forward with traditional Earth Kingdom noble wear with flowerful headdresses and make up on both their eyes and cheeks. I blinked and stared at them- seeing their swapped hairstyles (Toph had two braids draped over her shoulders where as Katara had her hair on top of her head, wrapped around the headdress). They fell into a fit of giggles as we all stared wide eyed. "Wooow…"

"You look so pretty!~" I jumped to my feet and ran to them. "You two look amazing- I love what you did with your hair Toph! And your makeup! Katara you look older!"

"Thank you Brittany." the older girl said, smiling brightly."

"Hush!" Toph covered her mouth with her fan. "Don't talk to the commoners Katara- first rule of society."

"We'll get in to the party and look for a way to get you through the side gate." Katara rolled her eyes as they walked toward the door.

"I'll be right behind you guys." I smiled.

"No offence Brittany Brittany but your hair-"

"I have a plan- I was training with ninjas remember? No one will notice me." I waved her off and turned to Brenan, passing him an invisibility potion when no one was looking. "Where are you going to be?"

"I'll hang back with the boys- make sure they don't back anything or blow our cover." My 'twin' shrugged. I nodded and followed the girls out. Drinking my potion behind one of the bushes, I cautiously maneuvered my way to the carriage and latched onto the back of it. The passengers and the driver were none the wiser. The ride was shorter than I anticipated and I hopped off, running to the front of the line and slipping by when the guards allowed a pair to pass. I waited a bit before entering completely- '_the girls would need an invitation...how will they get in?'_ I sighed before stepping further into the palace before someone would eventually crash into me and blow my cover. '_My potion will only last so long- I hope the others are quick...oh my god I'm actually on my own!'_

I panicked.

I ran to one of the farthest corners and waiting for familiar faces or for panadodium to start. Whichever came first. The party itself looked nice though- people were enjoying the company of others and the food and in the distance I could hear the bear the party was for. There were little tea lights and lanterns adorned above it all which gave a nice orange glow compared to the green tints of the room and the people. A few minutes passed and still no sign of Toph or Katara- I figured that it was good as ever to woman up and look around. I drank another potion for good measure and started mindlessly passing by people to look for something- maybe that side gate to let the boys through. Yeah! That's a good idea.

"You don't understand- you must go!"

"Ahhh!"

I perked up and ran towards the commotion. Looks like the trouble came first.

"Oh- I'm sorry, don't shout." Aang said. Then he blasted the poor woman to dry her off- successfully ruining her look. Instead of enraged however- she seemed shocked and pleased- star struck if you will. "I didn't know that Avatar would be here."

Aang was now the center of attention and separated from the group. The other watched in stilled nervousness while Brenan had the nerves to face palm. "He give himself away so easily."

"What happened to watching over him?" I asked.

He jumped and whipped around- smacking me in the arm but not seeing me. "Where are you?"

"Next to you, you dingus- now pretend I'm not here. You'll blow my cover." I rubbed my arm and stepped back.

"Oh sorry."

"We just need to find the king."

Aang then started to waterbend the people's drinks and make a show of him being there while the rest of us backed away. Since I had nothing to lose, (read: focused on Aang) I stayed and watched as he played with the bear- endeared by the bears playfulness and Aang's willingness to entertain him. '_Wait! That's a grizzly! I win the bet!'_ At Sokka's cue- Aang left the bear and maneuvered down the table on an air ball- healing straight towards the king. From my side- Brenan was taken without a sound and escorted away by the Dai Lee. I gasped and ran to keep up with them. Soon the girls and Sokka joined Brenan as they were all dragged away from the party and lead elsewhere. "There's one more." A guard said. "She must be here- find her and bring her along. She looks like this one." He shook Brenan.

'_Little do they know I'm right behind them.'_

**'Brittany! We've been caught!'**

I rolled my eyes and followed as quietly as I could. '_I know I'm with you- they don't know I followed.'_

Soon they all reached a room and here, they were let go of. Aang joined us not long after and finally we were free to talk.

"Why won't let us talk to the Earth King?!" Sokka yelled. "We have information that could defeat the Fire Nation!"

"Patients, I assume you're realized that not all your little friends over here. When the young girl arrives we'll speak." Said the man.

"She's not here." Toph spoke up. I turned my head towards her- she of all people should know that I'm here with them. "She got sick and stayed at home. She said it was some bad food. If she's not home then we don't where she is but she couldn't have gotten here on her own."

"Very well then- I've sure you'll pass this forward then. The Earth King has no time to get involved with the political squabbles and the day to day manusha of military activities."

"This could be the most important thing the king has ever heard." Aang argued.

The man's face didn't change at all. "What's most important to his royal majesty is maintaining the _cultural_ heritage of Ba Sing Se. All his duties relate to issuing decrees on such matters. It's my job to oversee the rest of the cities resources including the military." Now he looked smug.

Katara raised a hand to her mouth in shock. "So the king is just a figurehead!"

"He's your puppet!" Toph cried.

"Oh no." The man said, putting his hands up in defense. "No, no, his majesty is an icon. A god to his people. He can't sully his hands with the hourly changes of an endless war."

"But we found out about a solar eclipse that could leave the Fire Nation defenseless!" Sokka walked right up to the man. "You could lead an invasion-"

"Enough!" He stood. "I don't want to hear your ridiculous plan. It is the strict policy of Ba Sing Se that the war will not mentioned within the wall."

'_Everyone is a puppet then.'_

The man continued. "Constant news of an escalating war will lead the citizens of Ba Sing Se into a panic. Our economy would be ruined. Our peaceful way of life- our traditions would disappear. In silence in talk of conflict, Ba Sing Se remains a peaceful, orderly utopia. The last one on earth."

"You can't keep the truth from all these people. "Katara argued. "They have to know."

"I'll tell them." Aang frowned, raising his voice in anger. "I'll make sure everyone knows."

"Until now-" The man stepped toward hand went o my sword. "-you've been treated as our honored guest.. But from now on you every move will be watched by Dai Lee agents. If you mention the war to anyone you'll be expelled from the city. I understand you've been looking for your bison."

The leverage!

Appa!

"It would be a shame if you wouldn't be able to complete your quest." He sat back down.

The doors opened.

"Now Ju Di would show you home."

"Come with me please."

"What happened to Ju Di?" Brenan asked- horrified by the woman's new face.

"I'm Ju Di." She said. "I'll be your host as long as you are in our wonderful city."

She smiled.

'_We're over our heads here!'_ I had trouble breathing. '_Oh my notch! This place is evil! I want out! No wonder Ju Di was so weird!'_ I followed behind my friends before they closed the doors and left me behind. I latched on the back of the carriage once again and drank another invisibility potion so that no one could see me on the way back. No one spoke throughout the ride and it continued throughout the night as well all processed the information.

By morning- I was visible again.

"You know what you call dirty- I call a healthy coating of earth." Toph said.

I groaned.

"Brittany! You're awake!" Katara beamed. "Where were you yesterday? Toph said you were there but no one saw you."

"I was with you- I heard everything. I told you no one would notice me." I sat up- rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "I was hoping it was all just some bad dream."

"If we're going to be here we might as well look around." She smiled. "How about we have a girls day? We could go to the spa or something."

"Do I have to?" Toph whined- hair in all possible directions.

"It'll be fun!" I grinned and got out from under the blanket. "Let me just brush my hair!"

I then ran out of the room and into the common bathroom. I fixed myself up as fast as I could before grabbing a piece of toast to scarf down. " 'm ready!"

"Bready." Brenan chuckled from his spot on the ground.

I grinned back at him. "Very punny."

Soon enough- (when Toph was properly dressed) the three of us left the place and got a carriage to the nearest spa in town. Toph however was less than thrilled. "The 'Fancy Lady Day Spa'? Sounds like my kind of place."

"I've never been to a spa before…" I looked towards the doors. "No one really does this kind of thing back home...that and I've never really had any girl friends now that I think about it."

Katara smirked. "Then it's your lucky day. Are you ready from some serious pampering?"

"Sure Katara." Toph didn't look up...not that she needed "...whatever you say...as long as they don't touch my feet!"

I clapped my hands excitedly and followed the girls inside where Katara took charge and ordered a full treatment for the three of us. They started (ironically enough) by filing the calluses on our feet no matter where they were. Katara and I got on fine with that one, even if I did keep squirming around because it tickled but Toph had to be held down by two other employers while the one that did the filling got earthbender nearly through a wal. I could only imagine what Toph was actually going through.

Next on the docket was a mud bath.

Toph managed to bend the mud on her face to scare the poor lady that brought us new towels. With the cucumber slices lengthened out and the mud around her mouth squiggling- she looked like an alien. We started giggling uncontrollably when the lady ran out screaming.

After an hour or so in the tubs we got out, cleaned ourselves and reserved a private sauna for another hour or so. It was supposed to help open our pores and help out muscle, they said. It was so hot though.

Katara and I took turns adding water to the steamer to thicken the room while Toph added the rocks to control it. I had started to fall asleep by the time our allotted time was up.

Our visit finished up with some nice ladies who were kind enough to do our makeup. Mascara, blue eyeshadow and touch of blush.

"That wasn't so bad." Toph smiled as we walked through town. "I'm not usually into that kind of stuff but I actually feel...girly."

"I'm glad." Katara looked over to the earthbender and sparing me a quick glance before looking in front of us once more. "It's about time we did something fun together."

"We should do this kind of stuff more often." I grinned. "Take a day just for ourselves- who said that the boys had to be everywhere we were. We spend so much time trying to not get them to kill themselves however and _that_ is tiring."

Topg giggled a bit. "That's true."

"Great makeup."

More laughter.

'_Wait, that's not Katara.'_

"For a clown!"

"And what's with that hair? How much attention are you looking for? Mommy and daddy don't see you at home? The pink is so bright it hurts my eyes."

Three other girls passed us- that's who laughed. I grew indignant and angry. I was ready to give those girls a piece of my mind. "Don't." Katara grabbed my shoulder. "We don't have to make a scene. They shouldn't ruin our day."

I looked to Toph and saw her deflate. "Don't listen to them Toph- they're just jealous."

I stuck my tongue out at them.

"Let's just keep walking." Katara guided us both away.

"I think they looks cute." Another one said. "Like that time we put a sweater on your pet poodle monkey."

More laughter.

I was seething. "This isn't ok."

"No, no…" Toph faked a small giggle of her own. "That _was_ funny- like your pet poodle money- HAHAHA! You what else is a good one?"

She then bended the bridge under them to collapse and they fell into the water below. I laughed along with Katara who looked proud. "Now _that_ was funny."

Together we bended them away and sent them down the river- listening to their screams as they went. We both ran to catch up with the shorter girl since she stormed away as soon as she could.

"Those girls don't know what they're talking about." Katara started.

"It's ok." Toph sighed. "One of the good things about being blind is that I don't have to worry about appearances. I don't care what I look like- I'm not looking for anyone's approval. I know who I am."

'_She's gonna cry...'_

"That's what I really admire about you Toph." Katara said. "You're so strong and confident and self assured. I know it doesn't matter but- you're really pretty."

"I am?" She lifted her head a little after sniffling.

"Yeah you are."

We continued walking in higher spirits.

"I'd return the compliment but I don't know what you look like.." Toph shrugged.

"That's fine." I said. "I think it's better- because then you can actually focus on the person!"

" So you really do get a hard time for your hair, don't cha? Why?" Toph looked in my direction. "What's wrong with it?"

"It's not normal." I admitted. "My people usually do crazy things with their hair anyway so when I was born no one thought too much about it." '_That's what I think anyway- I can't even know for sure.'_ "But when I started traveling- I realized how weird it was...and everyone always has to say something. But you don't care because you can't tell and that's...been so refreshing. I guess I owe a thank you now that I'm thinking about it."

"Don't bother." She punched my arm. "You're not so bad Giggles."

She waited bit before punching Katara in the arm as well. "Thank you Katara- for today."

"You're welcome… that did hurt though."

"What should we do next?"


	9. Finding Appa and the Earth King

Our day started by making lost Appa posters- Brenan went with Aang and Katara to find someone willing to print them while I stayed home with Sokka trying to draw Appa as accurate as possible. We weren't very good to be honest and Toph couldn't help at all- doesn't mean she didn't comment. Some time later both airbender and watertribe girl came back- calling their trip a success and showing a marvelous poster with a professional picture of Appa on it.

"I thought designing the poster was my job?" Sokka whined.

I shoved him. "I was here too!"

"Sokka-" Aang ran a hand down his face. "The arrow is on Appa's head."

"This is on his head!" Sokka turned the paper sideways.

Katara tried (and failed) to stop herself from laughing. "Why are fett coming out of it?"

"Those are his horns!" The boy hung his head in defeat. "I haven't seen him in a while ok?"

"That's not so bad Brittany." Brenan slowly took the paper away from me. I let him. "I thought he'd be bigger but it's certainly better than Sokka's."

"I kept getting the size wrong." I shrugged. "I wanted to start small so I wouldn't waste paper."

"It just looks just like him to me." Toph grinned.

Sokka smiled. "Thank you. I've worked really...why do you feel the need to do that?"

"Let's just stick to the professional version." Katara offered.

Soka tore up the current paper he was holding.

"Come on!" Aang looked excited. "Let's get busy."

We each dived the posters so when we all went out together, we'd all have an equal share. Aang, Momo and Brenan took to the skies dropped pamphlets. Well... Aang and Momo were in the sky- Brenan hopped from rooftop to rooftop since he still hadn't gotten his own staff. When the arial efforts finished- we decided to take a break before putting up the posters. To wait to see if anyone would say anything.

There was knock at the door.

"Hello~!"

"Ju Di?"

She was back. The first woman came back.

Still smiled.

Always smiling.

"Hello Aang and Katara and Sokka and Top and Brittany and Brenan."

"What happened to you?" Brenan wheezed. "Did the Dai Lee throw in jail?"

"What?" She raised an eyebrow. "Jail? Of course not. The Dai Lee are the protectors of our cultural heritage."

"But you disappeared at the Earth King's party." Toph said.

"Oh- I simply took a short vacation to Lake Laogai, out in the country." Ju Di smiled- a little more naturally anyway. "It was quite relaxing."

Sokka did not look convinced.

"But then they replaced you with some other woman who also said that her name was Ju Di." Katara explained.

"I'm Ju Di."

"Yes we know- that's not the point."

"Why are you here?" Aang raised an eyebrow.

Ju DI then took out one of pamphlets the boys dropped off earlier. "Dropping fliers and putting up posters are not permitted with in the city. Not without proper clearance."

Sokka groaned. "We can't just wait around to get permission for everything."

"You're absolutely forbidden by the rules of the city to continue putting up posters."

Aang turned red.

"WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE RULES AND WE'RE NOT ASKING PERMISSION! WE'RE FINDING APPA ON OUR OWN AND YOU SHOULD STAY OUT OF OUR WAY!"

He slammed the door in her face.

I bit the inside of my cheek. "Well that went well."

"That might come back to bite us later." Brenan sighed.

"I don't care." Aang growled. "From now we do whatever it takes to find Appa."

"Yeah! Let's break some rules!" Toph cried out, '_At least she's happy.'_ And then she destroyed the wall to our left. '_Maybe a little too much.'_

I grimaced as we left the house. When we got into town we started our work putting up posters every few feet. "We should split up." Sokka said. "We'd cover more ground that way, Toph...I guess you should just come with me."

"WHY?!" She frowned- she was grumpy the whole time we were out here by the way. "Because you think I can't put up posters on my own?"

In her fit of anger- she took the brush from Sokka's hand and a poster from the pile and stuck it to the wall. We all watched her in silence and waited until her reaction was made clear.

"It's upside down, in't it?"

I gave an apologetic smile. "No...you just glued it to the wrong wide."

"I'll just go with Sokka."

Brenan and I shared a shrug and split the stack that we had as we all went in our different directions. Not even five minutes passed before we all heard the sound of water crashing and Katara's angered screams. The rest of us ran to where Katara was and saw that she had pinned a boy a little older than Sokka against the wall with ice shards. "Katara! What's wrong?"

"Jet's back!" She growled.

"Uh…" I looked for any defining clues in my friend's faces for what the heck was going on. "Who?"

"We can't trust anything Jet says!"

"We don't even know why he's here!" Sokka yelled over his sister.

"I don't care why he's here!" She snapped back. "Whatever the reason is it can't be good!"

"Ok, cool, but who is he?!" I gestured to him. Brenan grabbed my wrist and whispered. "Traitor..,may or may not have had a thing with Katara but overall not a good guy. Tried to hurt innocents and all that."

I nodded and decided that it was time to stay quiet.

"I'm here to help you find Appa!" Jet said unraveling a pamphlet that Aang dropped earlier.

"Katara-" Aang looked over. "-we have to give him a chance."

"I swear I've changed." Jet pleaded- looking directly into KAtara's eyes. "I was a troubled person and I let my anger get out of control. But I don't have the gang now- I've put all that behind me."

"You're lying!"

Toph stepped up, put her hand to the wall and said. "He's not lying."

We all blinked. Brenan cleared his throat before he spoke- choosing words to somewhat change the tone in the conversation. "How can you tell?"

"I can feel his breathing and heartbeat- when people lie, there's a physical reaction. He's telling the truth."

"Katara- we don't have any leads." Aang turned to the waterbender.

I stared in awe. "Toph please teach me that.."

"All in due time."

Aang continued. "If Jet says he can take us to Appa- we have to check it out."

Katara sighed and looked away in defeat- in no was looking pleased with the turn of events. "Alright- but we're not letting you out of our sight!"

With th older girls approval we headed out of the alley and followed Jet to what seemed to be an empty warehouse. "This is the place I've heard about."

"It's empty."

Katara got into a defensive stance- reaching for her water pouch. "If this is a trap-"

"I told you I work nearby!" I turned around. "Two guys are were talking about a giant furry creature they had- I figured it must be Appa."

"He was here!" I cried out- picking up a patch of familiar fur off of the ground. Aang suddenly appeared by my side, soon followed by the others and took the fur out of my hands- longingly stroking it. "We missed him."

"They took that big thing yesterday." Old man Jenkins said. I'm not sure where he came from but he seemed keen on cleaning the place. "Shipped them out to some island, they did. 'Bout time. I've been cleaning fur and various...leavings all day."

"What island?" Aang sprang across the floor to get to the man. "Where's Appa?"

"Foreman said some rich royal type on Whale Tail Island bought him up, guess for a zoo or such...though could be the meat could be good."

"We got to get to Whale Tail Island." Aang said. Sokka had already pulled out a map to look for such a place. It seemed to be the right thing to do anyway since we all knew Aang would ask- "Where's Whale Tail Island?"

"Far." Sokka put the map down. "Very far." He pointed to it on the map that we had and said. "It's near the South Pole- almost all the way back home."

"Aang- it'll take us wees to get to the tip of the Earth Kingdom." Katara sighed. "And then we'll need to find a boat to get to the island."

"I don't care." Aang's gaze was determined. "We have a chance to find Appa- we have to take it."

"Must be nice to visit an island." The old man spoke up again. "I haven't' had a vacation is years."

"Don't you have more hair to clean up!" I snapped.

"Shuffle on gotcha'. No more need for old sweepy."

"You're right Aang." I put my hand on his shoulder. "Right now our first concern is to find Appa, we can come back when we have him."

"Alright." Sokka stood up and put the map away. "Let's get moving then."

"I'll come with you." Jet jogged up to our group.

Katara stopped to stall him from following us. "We don't need your help!"

"Just keep walking." Brenan guided me to walk a little faster away as the two began to bicker. Sokka walked ahead of us, with the purpose of getting us to the train. "We can take the train up until the wall but then we'd have to walk."

"Don't worry." Aang said in a more jovial tone. "On the way back, we'll be flying."

"We're finally going to leave Ba Sing Se." Toph chuckled. "Worst. City. Ever!"

"Jet!" A new voice called out.

"I thought you said you didn't have the anymore!" Katara cried.

"I don't!"

The voice crashed into Jet, giving the boy a hug. "We were so worried. How did you get away from the Dai Lee?"

"The Dai Lee?"

"I don't know what's she's talking about!"

"He got arrested by the Dai Lee a couple of weeks ago." The new girl explained. "We saw them drag him away!"

A new boy walked up.

Jet only looked more confused. "Why would I be arrested? I've been living peacefully in the city!"

"This doesn't make any sense." Toph crouched on the ground. "They're both telling the truth."

"That's impossible." Brenan spoek up, crossing his arms.

"No it's not." I shook my head, giving Brenan a slow push to make my point.

"Toph can't tell who's lying because they both think they're telling the truth." Sokk spoke up. I nodded in agreement. "He was brainwashed!"

"That's crazy!" The boy question cried. "It can't be! Stay away from me!"

Slowly we all walked in on him, giving him no chance to escape. It took some effort but we managed to tie him up and take him to where the other two were living. Katara looked crossed- she made that much clear with her arms. "The Dai Lee must have sent Jet to mislead us and the janitor was in on the plot too."

"I bet they have Appa here in the city." Aang nodded. "Maybe he's in the same place they took Jet. Where did they take you?"

"Aang he doesn't know." I said. "To be brainwashed you have to forget you ever were to begin with."

"Nowhere." Jet ignored me. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"We need to find a way to jog his real memories." Brenan sighed, looking around the room. "Anyone got any ideas?"

Sokka took the opportunity to tease his sister. "Maybe Katara can kiss him? That should bring something back."

"Maybe you should kiss him Sokka."

"Hey it's just an idea." Soka smirked.

Aang grumbled. "A bad one."

"Try to think of something from your past." Toph started. "Something that triggers your emotions."

"The Fire Nation." The new girl whose name I;ve had yet to learn said. "Remember what they did to your family."

"Close your eyes to picture it."

The boy did as instructed but stopped only after a few moments, already beginning to sweat. "I can't, it's to painful."

"Maybe this would help." Katara stepped forward and waterbended some healing water to his head. Jet tried again and this time was able to give a straight answer. "They took me to a headquarters underwater...like a lake."

I blinked. "Lake?"

"Remember wha Ju Di said?" Sokka got his idea face. "She said that she went on a vacation to Lake Laogai."

"That's it!" Jet cried out- standing up at his revelation- how and when he got out of the ropes escaped me. "Lake Laogai- that's where they took me."

"We head there first thing in the morning then." Aang looked at the older boy.

When we got there, nothing seemed out of place and nothing seemed strange...it was just a lake- nothing special about it. It did look pretty though. "So...where's the secret headquarters?"

"Under the water- I think." Jet scratched his head. "It's all a bit blurry."

"There's a tunnel right there by the shore." Toph pointed to her right and headed straight for it. In one swift movement she brought the tunnel to the surface and removed the top covering. It was long down- only by ladder apparently. I sighed. "None of the vas better break- that's one mess I'd rather not repeat."

"What?"

"Nothing."

One by one we started to make our way down- creeping as quietly as we could for nine youngins, while being aware of imminent danger, each holding or near our respective weapons in case of any attack. As we walked through the dimly lit tunnels of this nightmarish place- Jet kept walking, observing his surroundings. "It's all starting to come back to me."

As we passed a room where a man was brainwashing women to play the part of Ju Di. The women were as still as statues- pupils dilated as an effect of the practice. We didn't stay there for very long.

"I think there might be a cell big enough to hold Appa right ahead."

Jet then picked a door, claiming that Appa might be inside but instead it appeared to an empty cavern with chains and blobs of mass hanging from the ceiling. When we were all inside and away from the door- ti closed by itself and the place lit up- causing us to all look at the hooks and Dai Lee symbols on the ceiling. "Now that's something different."

The man from before was back! "You have made yourselves enemies of the state- take them into custody."

Several Dai Lee agents then dropped to the ground and surrounded us all- ready to apprehend us once again like at the party. They shot their rock hands at us- but Toph exploded them and launched the two agents who threw them towards the wall. Jet was the next to attack by slashing through the rock hands and tripping the agent with his hook. Aang and the arrow boy started to attack more members with what they could. One by one we all started to join in- each rescuing another when we were grabbed by their rocks hands and destroying them when we could. The leader man then turned on his heel and left the room while we were all focused on not being apprehended. "Long Fang is escaping!"

"Go get him!" I yelled- slashing through more hand with my sword and moving others out of the way with my spinjitzu. "We'll handle the Dai Lee!"

"Heads up!" Brenan called out from behind me- blasting the guy headfirst into the wall.

"On your left!"

"Coming through!"

"Hya!"

"You'll pay for that!"

"We need to get to Aang!"

"This way then!" Sokka cried out- leading us out of the room while Toph took over and lead us to where Jet and Aang had gone- most of the Dai Lee we were dealing with had given and let us leave. '_Some secret orders then…'_ When we found the two boys, Jet was on the ground, clearly injured with a rock protruding from the ground in front of him. Aang was right above him. Immediately we all ran to him- Katara taking out her water and attempting to heal and asses the damage. She didn't look very confident with the results. "This isn't good."

"You guys go and find Appa- we'll take care of Jet." Warrior girl said.

"We can't just leave you!" I said. "Not here of all places!"

"There's no time." Arrow boy spoke up for the first time in (what I assumed to be) forever (judging by everyone's reactions). "Just go. We'll take care of him; he's our leader."

"You should go- don't worry Katara." Jet spoke up. "I'll be fine."

He smirked.

'_Yeah...he'll be fine.'_

"He's lying…" Toph whispered as we walked away- letting us know what's actually happening to him. '_Maybe not then..'_ The girl we left behind started crying but we now had to focus on getting our friend back after so long.

Toph once again lead the way through this underwater hell and opened the door to a rather large cell.

Except it was empty.

Our only clue that Appa was there of all was the six large suffs that were chained to the floor- evidence that he was at least there. "Appa's gone!"

Aang sighed. "Long Fang beat us here."

"If we keep moving-" Sokka yelled- already turning to the door again. "-maybe we can catch up with them!"

With our new resolve, we booked it out of the cell and out of the cult prison. We didn't stop running even as we reached the surface- which was starting to prove to be very tiresome. My legs screamed for a break but when I looked back towards the tunnel I saw various Dai Lee agents running after us.

There was no time to stop yet.

"Do you think we can out run them?!" Brenan yelled over the sound of rushing wind and stomping feet.

"I don't think it's gonna matter!"

Up ahead was Long Fang with two agents on each side- together they made a wall to trap us from going any further and the agents behind us did the same. Now we were surrounded with our only escape point being the lake itself. Momo flew up and around us- getting our attention before soaring upwards- bringing our eyes to the sky. In a moment of stilled breath- Appa came flying straight towards ua- surprising us all- crashing into the wall in front of us and destroying the one behind- effectively saving us from whatever hell they had planned.

"APPA!"

The beast flew back around as Toph and Aang launched the Dai Lee on the wall

Into the lake and landed in front of Long Fang- having a bone to pick with him. The man tried to fight the sky bison but Appa grabbed him by the foot and threw him as far as he could into the watery deep. When the coast was clear we all ran toward him and each gave him the biggest hugs we could manage. "We all missed you so much!"

"You're such a sight for sore eyes, do you know that?"

"We're never leaving you again!"

As soon as we had our fill of reunion hugs, we got on top of Appa and left the lake as fast as we could- now hugging each other for any sort of comfort we could provide after the mess that was Lake Laogai.

We stopped by a nearby island to gather our wits and plan our next move. Aang and Appa spent the time being in each others presence again making each other know just how much they missed one another.

"Okay-" Sokka stood up- walking over to the rest of us. "We escaped from the Dai Lee- we got Appa back! I'm telling you, we should go to the Earth king and tell him our plan! We're on a roll!"

"One good hour after weeks of trouble isn't much of a role." Katara frowned.

"We can build on it." He replied. "If we want to invade the Fire Nation when the solar eclipse happens then we need the Earth King's support."

"What makes you think we'll get it?" Toph snapped. "I don't know if you've noticed but things rarely go that smoothly for our little gang."

"Besides- it seems too risky." I tilted my head a little sheepishly. "Ba Sing Se is still crawling with Dai Lee agents- what if we just get caught?"

"I know but I've got a good feeling about this." The water tribe boy shrugged. "This time will be no different."

"Sokka, Long Fang is in control of the city." Brenan ran a hand down his face. "His conspiracy with the Dai Lee is too strong. I think we should just keep flying and leave this whole place behind us."

"I'm with Sweetness and Bubble Boy. Giggles has a good point. I've seen enough of Ba Sing Se." Toph looked away. Brenan took a step back in both confusion and mock offense. "Bubble Boy?"

"I can't even see!"

"Bubble Boy?!"

"But now that we have Appa back there's nothing stopping us from telling the Earth King the truth." Aang hopped over to us- grinning with child like glee. "You know- about the conspiracy and the war."

"See Aang's with me!" Sokka wrapped his arm around the shorter boys shoulders. "It's the whole reason we came to here in the first place- we have to try."

"I guess…" Katara seemed to think it over. "...if the Earth King knew the truth, things could change."

"I still don't like it." I said. Toph finally stood up like the rest of the kids and said. "I don't like the new positive Sokka- LONG FANG BRAINWASHED YOU DIDN'T HE?"

"There are boats on the water!" Brenan called out, pointing to them.

"That's probably the Dai Lee looking for us." Sokka then looked towards his sister for approval. "So?"

"Let's fly."

"Brittany?"

"If Katara's in, I'm in- let's get out of here." I ran towards Appa and we all climbed on one by one. We had to hold on to Appa by his fur since he no longer had his saddle as we made our way to the palace. "We need a new saddle!"

Toph cried. "Riding bareback is terrifying!"

"At least we're close-" Brenan inched forward. "That whole thing is the castle so the King's chambers must be in the center."

"We need to be careful." Katara furrowed her eyebrows. "Long Fang probably already warned the King we were coming."

"Why would you assume that?" Sokka asked. "If you ask me, we're just going to sail on in and -AHHH!"

We narrowly dodged the boulder thrown our way. "Ok! They're attacking, what now?!"

"More imcomming!"

We continued to dodge them- each seeming to travel faster than the last. It came to a point where Aang no longer cared to dodge but instead broke the rocks as they came towards us. Aang then jumped off of Appa and knocked over the ground troops as we came into the landing. We then started our trek forwards- Toph and Aang manned the front, blocking their blows while Katara walked after them- taking the men out with her water whip. "Sorry!"

Toph toppled over more of the men like dominoes. I cringed as we simply ran past them. "We just need to go see the Earth King!"

As a last resort the men threw two enormous badger mole statues at us. Toph and Aang both covered our group with the surrounding bricks to shield us. When we felt them break apart and fall- Katara and I ran out of the stone igloo. I spinjitzu-ed the men in front of us down and the two of us used the water from the surrounding creek to not only take us across but knock the next line of men down and into the water.

As we neared- we could see hundreds of Dai Lee agents pour out of the palace like an infestation. Toph then made the whole stair flip on itself so that the steps were now just a massive slide. Together with the Avatar, she then pulled the ground from under us upwards and we passed by the agents as they continuously fell. "We're actually on your side- honest!"

They didn't listen.

As we ran through the doors we were met with a three way choice and more agents. Sokka looked around. "Toph! Which way to the Earth King?!"

"How should I know?!" She pinned the agents to the ceiling individually. "I'm still voting we leave Ba Sing Se!"

"Brenan! Help me look!" Sokka ran towards the doors- Brenan hot on his heels- opening them and looking around trying to figure out which way to run while the rest of us fought off the Dai Lee. Over the rubble, Sokka spotted a promising looking door but he wasn't strong enough to open it by himself. So Brenan, Toph and Aang stepped in to blast the door open- sending Sokka with it. "A little warning next time!"

"We're here." Brenan looked ahead. "It really is a grizzly."

"I win." I smiled.

"Guys Long Fang is here too." Katara took out her water again. Each one holding a weapon at the ready even if the king was right in front of us.

Aang took the lead now that we were here. "We need to talk to you!"

"They're here to overthrow you." Long Fang said.

"No- we're on your side!" I barked. "We're trying to help but they won't let us through!"

"You have to trust us!"

The king stood up. "You invade my palace- laid waste to my guards- break down my fancy door and you expect me to trust you?!"

Toph rolled her eyes. "He has a good point."

"If you're on my side then drop your weapons and stand down." The king said.

We all traded looks- coming to a unanimous agreement. One by one we dropped our weapons- Sokka and I dropped our swords, Katara put back her water, Toph dropped the rock, Aang dropped his staff and Brenan got out of his defensive stance.

"See…" Aang tried to smile. "We're on your side your earthyness."

On Long Fang's command the Dai Lee launched their rock hands again and effectively cuffed s. Long Fang smirked. "Detain the ailments."

The the agents surged surged forward.

"But we dropped our weapons- we're your allies."

"Make sure the Avatar and his friends never see the daylight again." Long Fang commanded.

"The Avatar?" The king blinked. "You're the Avatar?"

"No- him." Sokka sighed- gesturing with his head towards the boy in orange.

"Over here." Aang released the cuffs to show his hands before cuffing himself again. '_What the heck!? Get yourself out then you weirdo!'_

"What does it matter your highness?" Long Fang questioned- clearly using his most trusted position to his advantage. "They're enemies of the stat."

"...perhaps you're right." The king sighed. But then the bear got up from his spot by the king and trotted over to Aang-sitting by his side and licking his face. "Though Bosco seems to like him- I'll hear what he has to say."

Now that we were somewhat in the clear to speak, Aang stepped forward. "Well sir, there's a war going on right now. For the last one hundred years in fact. The Dai Lee's kept it secret from you- it's a conspiracy to control the city and to control you."

"A secret war?" The king gasped. "That's crazy."

"Completely." Long Fang sneered.

Aang didn't give up though. "Long Fang didn't want us to tell you so he stole our sky bison to blackmail us. And blackmail is the least of his crimes! He brainwashed our friend!"

The guilty party turned to the king. "All lies- I've never even seen a sky bison your majesty. Frankly I thought they were extinct."

"You claim is difficult to believe." The king sat back down, now speaking to us. "Even from an Avatar."

Long Fang then took the opportunity to say something to the king but I couldn't hear what he was saying. His voice was too long and we were too far away.

"I have to trust my advisor." The king relented. On his cue, the Dai Lee started to lead us away. "Wait!"

Sokka struggled his way around. "I can prove he's lying! Long Fang said he has never seen a sky bison- ask him to left his robe."

"What?!" The man cried. "I'm not disrobing!"

The boys shared a look and Aang took a deep in the process. He blew it all out- expanding it outward- sending Long Fang's robe over his head- exposing his leg. "Right there!"

There was a large red mark in the shape of a dull tooth.

"Appa bit him!"

Sokka smirked. "Never met a sky bison huh?"

"That happens to be a large birthmark." The man pulled the robe from over his head. "Thanks for showing everyone."

The king shrugged. "Well...I suppose there's nowhere to prove where those marks came from."

"Yes there is!"

All eyes turned to me. I gulped- not meaning to have everyone looking in my direction but I figured I should go through with my idea anyway. "Appa is right outside. We can match the mark to his teeth and if it fits- it's from a bite."

"Bring him in then." The king humoured me. We were uncuffed and allowed to help the sky bison over the pile of rubble and into the room. Aang so kindly asked Appa to open his mouth and from there the king himself got to mach the two for himself. "Yup-" He said. "That pretty much proves it."

We cheered.

"But it doesn't prove the crazy conspiracy." The king continued. "I suppose though- the matter is worth looking into."

Long Fang did not look pleased but he relented and left the room with the other Dai Lee agents. Not the best result our group could have asked for but we were going to take it. From there we took the king throughout the kingdom much to the shock of the common folk.

"So…" The king mused out loud. "This is what a train is like? I didn't realise it would be this public."

"So you've never been outside the upper ring before?" Brenan leaned forward on one of the train seats.

"I've never been outside the palace." The king replied. "Now- that's the way to travel!"

He pointed to Aang who was riding on Appa right beside the train. "So- may I ask where we're going?"

"Underneath Lake Laogai." Sokka said. "Your highness. To the Dai Lee secret headquarters- you're about to see where all of the brainwashing and conspiring take place."

I sighed. "That is if it's still there."

"What do you mean?"

"How much are you willing to bet that it'll be dismantled by the time we get there? They're earthbenders and information spreads fast- I don't have a good feeling about this."

"I'm sorry- but has you hair always been pink?" The king stepped closer to look at my head. "I've never seen anything like it."

"As long as I can remember- yes your majesty." I said. It didn't fly past me that he ignored what I said.

Sure enough, when we got there- Toph walked up to where we were before and the tunnel she pulled up was cracked to pieces and destroyed. "It's gone!"

"Oh don't tell me-" Sokka cried out. "It's ok...I've still got my positive attitude."

"You were right Brittany!" Katara grabbed my shoulders. "The Dai Lee knew we were coming and destroyed the evidence!"

"That seems awfully convenience." The king mused- not at all thrilled to see that there was absolutely nothing there. "Long Fang was right -this was a waste of time. If you'll excuse me, I'm going back to the palace."

"Wait the wall!" Brenan cried. "They can't cover up that in time!"

"We can prove it-" Aang flew to the Earth King. "Come with us to the outer wall."

"No king has ever been to the outer wall- I don't have time to deal with this." The king brushed passed the boy.

"If you come, you can ride on Appa!" Sokka offered.

This time the king agreed- although he didn't seem as pleased when we all actually got into the air. Toph chuckled. "First time flying?"

"It's both thrilling and terrifying." He grinned.

"Yeah I hate it too."

"I have to be honest." The king looked at his hands. "Part of me wants to hope that the stuff that you're telling me isn't true."

"We wish it wasn't."

The sun started to set by the time we reached the wall. The dril now had a wall surrounding it but it was otherwise untouched.

The king stared on- bewildered at the sight. "What is that?"

"It's a drill." Sokka said. "A giant drill made by the Fire Nation to break through your walls."

As the king processed this information, we had Appa land on the wall itself and watched as the king drank it all in. "I can't believe I never knew."

From the side lines- Long Fang made his appearance again with two Dai Lee agents by his side. "I can explain this your majesty. This is nothing more than a construction project."

"Really?" Katara smirked. "Then maybe you can explain why there's a Fire Nation insignia on your little construction project."

"Well it's imported of course." The guilty man said. "You know you can't trust domestic machinery. Surely you don't believe these children instead of your most loyal attendant."

A moment's pause.

The king looked at us as well.

"Dai Lee." The king said. "Arrest Long Fang- I want him to stand trial for crimes against the Earth Kingdom."

More silence- albeit more stunned than before.

The Dai Lee took out metal cuffs and took Long fang into custody. "You can't arrest me! You would need more than you know!"

"Looks like Long Fang is long gone!" Sokka cried out- not bothering to hide his glee. "I've been wanting to use that one."

"We should head back." I muttered, making my way back to Appa. "It's gonna be late son anyways.."

The group agreed and seemed to sense that the king wanted some silence to contemplate this new information. When we arrived at the palace, the king had us lead into the throne room where he wanted to speak with us once more. "I wanted to thank you for opening my eyes. All this time what I thought was a great metropolis was merely a city of fools. And that makes me the king fool...We're at war." He sounded broken. "With the Fire Nation…"

"That's why we came to Ba Sing Se your highness." Sokka spoke up. "Because we think you could help us end the war."

"We don't have much time." Aang said. "There's a comet coming this summer- it's energy would give the Fire Nation unbelievable strength- they'll be unstoppable."

"But there is hope." Sokka spoke up again. "Before the comet comes we have a window of opportunity. A solar eclipse is coming- the sun would be entirely blocked out b the moon and the Fire Nation would be helpless."

"What are you suggesting Sokka?" The king asked.

"That's the day we need to invade the Fire Nation...The Day of Black Sun."

"I don't know." The king sighed. "That would require to move troops out of Ba Sing Se. We'd be completely vulnerable."

"You're already vulnerable." Sokka replied. "The Fire Nation won't stop until Ba sing Se falls. You can either sit back and wait for that to happen or take the offense and give yourself a fighting chance."

The king seemed to think it over.

"Very well. You have my support."

"YES!"

"Your majesty." A guard walked in. "I apologize for the interruption."

"This is General Hao." The king said. "He's the leader of the Council of Five, my highest ranking generals."

"We searched Long Fang's office." The General started by saying. "I think we found something that would interest everybody."

With the king's permission, we all followed the man back into the library. "Long Fang had secret files on everybody in Ba Sing Se- including you kids."

"Secret files?" Aang asked.

The king started taking them out and read the first one out loud. "Toph Beifong."

He passed it to the general, who passed it to Aang, who passed it to Toph who passed it to Katara who opened it. "It's a letter from your mom- your mom's in the city! She wants to see you!"

"Long Fang intercepted our letters from home?" Toph sneered. "That's just sad."

"Here's one for Aang."

"This was attached to horn of your bison." The general said. "The Dai Lee captured it."

"It's from the Eastern Air Temple." Aang smiled. Katara leaned forward. "Is there a letter for me and Sokka by any chance?"

Brenan and I stayed quiet, knowing there was nothing for us as it was.

The king looked up from the box of intercepted letters. "I'm afraid not."

"Oh…"

"There's an intelligence report that might interest you." The general handed Katara a scroll.

"A small fleet of watertribe ships?" Katara continued to read. Sokka read it over her shoulder. "What? That could be dad?"

"Protecting the Mouth of Chameleon Bay? Lead by Hakota? It is dad!"

"I have to return to my duties but you kids are free to stya." The king got up and left with the general in tow. We took the privacy time to talk about these new developments.

"I can't believe it." Aang grinned. "There's a man living at the Eastern Air Temple. He says he's a guru."

"What's a guru?" Brenan put his elbows on his knees and his head on his hands. "Some kind of blowfish?"

"No- a guru is a spiritual expert." Aang said. "He wants to help me take the next step through the Avatar journey. He says he can teach to control the Avatar state."

"And I can't believe we know where our dad is now." Katara said- holding th scroll like it was her treasure.

Toph held a faint smile. "I know what you mean. My mom's in the city. And from her letter it sounds like she finally understands me."

Brenan and I continued to smile and nod.

"This is all such big news!" Sokka grinned. "Where do we even start?"

"I hate to say it but…" Katara sighed. "We need to split up."

My smile fell. "What?"

"Split up?" Aang's smile fell to. "We just got Appa back and the family back together. Now you want us to seperate?"

"You have to meet this guru Aang." She said. "If we're going to invade the Fire Nation- you need to be ready."

"Well...if I'm going to the Eastern Air Temple, Appa and I can drop you off to see your dad."

"Someone has to stay with the Earth king and plan for the invasion." Sokka said.

"It might as well be me and Brittany." Brenan spoke up. "It's not like...we have... anywhere to go…"

Our situation seemed to finally click with the others. Toph's eyes widened, clutching her scroll tighter. "You guys didn't get anything? What about your parents? Weren't you looking for them also?"

"Yeah." I sighed, not liking the turn of the conversation. "But we might as well stay and help where we can- like Brenan said… we don't have anywhere to go."

"Not to mention the possibility of our parents-" I nudged Brenan with my elbow. "What?! We don't even know if they're alive!"

Silence.

"We'll be fine." I bluffed. "Sokka and Katara can go see their dad- Toph can go see her mom and Aang can go see the guru...it works out just fine."

"You two…"Katara got up and hugged us both. "-are incredibly brave. Thank you."

"It's only fair."

When morning out the water tribe kids and the Avatar hung around, saying their goodbyes and vice versa. I personally made sure to say my farewells to Appa as well as Momo. Little did we know that the Earth King came to wish them safe travels as well. "Ba Sing Se owes you its thanks. And we look forward to your safe return."

"Your majesty." Another guard walked up. "There are three female warriors here to see you. They are from the island Kioshi."

"THAT'S SUKI!" Sokka nearly fell off of Appa. "SHE'S HERE!?"

"You know these warriors?" The king questioned.

"Oh yeah. "The boy grinned. "The Kioshi Warriors are a skilled group of fighters, trustworthy too. They're good friends of ours."

The king smiled. "Then we should welcome them as honored guests."

Toph walked up to us- face toward the ground. "I'm really gonna miss you guys."

"We will to." I said, giving her a hug. Soon enough, the rest of the group joined in- attacking Sokka when he didn't join in the first hug. "We'll see each other soon, don't worry."

We waved to Appa as he flew through the sky and saw Toph off as she went to go see her mom. Then it was just me and Brenan. The boy sighed, looking behind us and at the palace walls. "What now? I'm not used to being on my own. Not after being with them for so long."

"Neither am I." I took a deep breath grabbing his hand. "But we're not alone- we have each other and the others are counting on us to help the Earth King."

"They're setting up to welcome the warriors." Brenan looked around. "Should we stay?"

"Why nit? You would know them better than I would."

The guards then lined up in two lines, facing each other, doing down and away from a platform where the Earth King stoof. It took a few minutes but soon the Kioshi Warriors walked up to where we were. Brenan frowned. "I don't recognize any their faces."

"In our hour of need-" The Earth King said. "-it is with the highest honor tat I welcome our esteemed allies, the Kioshi Warriors."

They bowed.

"We are the Earth King's humble servants."

I paled.

Brenan paled.

"Oh no."


	10. A Loss of Friends

"Let's go inside." The king smiled. "I'm sure Bosco would be delighted to meet you three."

Brenan and I shared a panicked looked. '_We need to tell the king we can't trust them!'_

**'You heard Sokka- he said they were trustworthy- we can't just go back from that.' **Brenan replied. The two of us followed the king beside the Warriors back into the palace- trying to not show our discomfort or suspicion. '_We're just going to have to deal with it ourselves. How did they even get the uniforms?'_

'_Something must have happened- but with Azula here we're out of our league Brenan. This by no means safe.'_ I avoided the fakers- not once looking in their direction. The king lead us back into into the throne room where he sat down and entertained his pet bear. The girls all stood at attention while Brenan and I watched from the sidelines. "Look Bosco- the Kioshi Warriors are here to protect us. Aren't you excited?~" He then turned his attention to the girls and said. "It's been a difficult week for me. My most trusted advisor Long Fang and his Dai Lee agents tried to take the control of Ba Sing Se from me." '_You make it sound like you had it to begin with.'_

"It's terrible when you can't trust the people closest to you." The leader (*cough cough* Azula *cough cough*) said.

"But there is good news-" The king smiled. '_Oh no.'_ "As we speak- the Council of Five is planning to make an invasion on the Fire Nation- this summer! On the Day of Black Sun."

"No-" Brenan stopped himself. "Why is he telling them this?"

"Really? "The leader smirked. "Now that sounds like a brilliant and fascinating plan."

One of the generals came in and asked us to come with them- much to the king's disappointment and the amusement of the warriors. We were to help plan the invasion but they had already started without us. We interrupted to meeting as one of the members finished his sentence. "-launching point of the attack."

We both smiled sheepishly. "Sorry we're late."

"Its alright kids, have a east."

"In exactly two months the army and navy will invade the Fire Nation on the Day of Black Sun. All we need is the Earth King's seal to execute the plan." The main general shot a piece of the table that held the scroll on top. Brenan picked it up. "I'll get the scrolls to him right away- thank you General Hao. Brittany, you should tell them about the little leak."

I nodded.

As Brenan left the room I could feel the stares of the generals turn to me. "What leak?"

I took a deep breath. "The Kioshi Warriors that the king invited are not our allies. They are our enemies disguised as such. The king just told them the base idea of the plan but they cannot leave the kingdom. They are an elite group of fighters and can take down multiple grown men per girl. They have been following us for a while actually- I didn't think they would get in as easily as they did."

"What?! And the king is alone with them?!"

"It's too early for them to attack. They just got here." I sighed. "They're leader is the Fire Nation princess and she's smart, resourceful and knows when to bide her time. She won't strike just yet but they are not to be trusted."

"You said the Kioshi Warriors were trustworthy."

"They are- these girls are not the warriors, they only look like them."

"Very well. Wong get the king more bodyguards and up the security. We must cover every possible outlet,. Thank you for your information- are you sure about this?"

"Yes." I nodded. "Once you meet her- it's hard to forget her impression."

"We'll take that into consideration." The general nodded. "You may go."

I sighed and stood up. "Brenan and I will also do our part to watch them. We'll keep you updated."

I then left the room and tried to find the warriors...or Brenan but nothing came up. Instead I ran into Brenan who looked scared and out of breath- like he just ran a marathon. "Zuko is here!"

I blinked. "What?"

"He's in the city! With his uncle!"

"He was.. He was...making tea." Brenan now looked away, a little more bashful than before. "I might have overreacted not that I've said it out loud."

"Oh but it helps us greatly. Zuzu in Ba Sing Se?" A familiar voice teased us from the shadows. "I think it's time for a family reunion."

One of the warriors then flipped out of the shadows and paralyzed Brenan and I by simply pinching our shoulders. We didn't stand a chance. '_Ty Lee..I will learn what you do, so help me Notch!'_

"Such a shame such a pretty little princess betrayed the alliance between our people." Azula sneered. "I don't know you boy but your lie seems convincing enough."

Brenan and I tried to look at each other but we could only move our eyes- it's hard to focus when you only have your peripheral vision to work with. "Twins! Who would have thought? I bet your brother would love to see you again and learn of his new little brother."

'_NO! I can't go back!'_

"What should we do with them Azula?"

"Chain them away of course. We can't have them ruining our fin little plans of taking over Ba Sing Se."

"Any ideas where?" Mai groaned. "It's not like two people can just go missing."

"Of course they can." Azula smirked. "There's the underground catacombs we can use- we can thrown them in there."

The two on them grabbed us both and dragged us away. There were too many twists and turns to keep track of but it certainly could have gone smoother. The place they dragged us to was damp and cold with green crystals growing out of the walls, ceiling and ground. They dropped us off at separate corners so that we would be close but too far away to actually help each other. By the time the chains werewere set up, we had minimal movement/control over our bodies again. It didn't help much and only made it easier for us to be cuffed. Not to mention to stay standing. I groaned- hating the feel of the metal on my skin. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah- I think." Brenan tried to pull on the chains despite how weak we still were. "No broken bones yet."

"How about we don't have any broken bones period?" I grimaced. "Any ideas how to get out of here?"

"Your sword?"

"I can't reach it."

…

"The Earth Kingdom will fall."

"Love the positivity." I rolled my eyes. Around me there was nothing but rock and crystal- there had to be something to get us out! Focusing my energy- I waterbended what I could from the ground and used it to figure out the locks on my wrists. It was a slow place and very irksome considering the frigid air made it difficult to move my fingers. It took nearly an hour to free myself on both wrists- needing to freeze and thaw the water constantly in order to fit the keyhole. A moment passed as I sat down, feeling my wrists that were rubbed raw. Brenan raised an eyebrow. "Do I even want to know how you got out?"

"Sweat and tears dear brother." I smiled. "Do you want to be free or just cut out?"

"I'd rather not have any metal attached to me."

I shrugged. An honest answer but it would take longer. Using the small water I collected, I repeated the process (taking less time than I originally thought) on both of the locks on Brenan's hands. Right as the cuff of the last lock fell to the ground, the ceiling opened above us revealing two Dai Lee agents and a new prisoner. "You've got company."

They pushed the boy down the tunnel, closing the whole pathway as they left.

Zuko fell right in front of our feet.

I blinked. "Zuko? What are you-"

"Why are you here?" Brenan scowled, pushing me behind him.

I sighed and stepped around the pink haired boy. "He got caught too dummy. We're all prisoners so I think a truce should be called."

"You don't even know what he's done!"

"I don't have to know." I snapped back, I turned around and held my hand out to the prince. "Come on, stand up. You shouldn't be on the ground. Why did they throw you in here?"

"I- I…" He looked away and turned his back on us, choosing silence over defending himself.

"Let me guess it's a trap!" Brenan sneered. "So that when Aang comes to get us you can finally have him in your Fire Nation clutches!"

I stomped my foot down. "Brenan!"

"You're a terrible person, you know that?" He continued. "Always following us- hunting the Avatar?! Trying to capture the world's last hope for peace?!" Small flickers of flames sparked at his fingertips. "But what do you care? You're the Fire Lord's son- spreading war and violence and hatred is in your blood!"

"THAT'S ENOUGH BRENAN!"

Both boys now had their attention on me.

"Why are you defending him?"!

"Because he's my friend!"

"He's not the same person you knew! He's clearly changed!"

"He can change again!" I screeched, fighting the tears coming to me eyes. "All people can change...so shut up Brenan. You don't know what you're talking about."

"You don't know what's he's done! Weren't your parents on a business trip when they died?!" Brenan's face was red with rage. "Isn't it the Fire Nation's fault that you're an orphan?! They took your dad! They took your mom! How can you look him in his face and say he's your friend?!"

The tear now ran down my face freely now, any sense of control lost. "...it's not like he did that himself...we were just kids." '_We're still just kids…'_

"That's what happened to them?" I heard Zuko mutter from behind me. "...I'm sorry."

I sniffled and looked to the older boy- Brenan stood ahead, trying to snuff out the fire fire that had that had steadily collected on his hands. "Care to explain?" He snapped.

"That's what we both have in common." Zuko put a hand on my shoulder and wiped away the remaining tears. He looked at my pseudo brother but couldn't hold his glare. "The Fire Nation took my mother away too."

The fire died out on the younger boys hands.

"What do you mean?"

"It's a long story."

I gulped and hesitantly reached up. "Does it have to do with your scar?"

He stopped my hand.

"No."

A second pass.

Then another.

Brenan ran a hand through his hair and hid his face as the tips of his ears turned pink. "I guess I should apologize for yelling."

Zuko waved him off, returning to a colder version of himself. "It doesn't matter."

"Why do you have that scar?" I retracted my hand. "Zuko? You ok?"

He sighed. "How I got my scar...doesn't matter. I used to think...this scar marked me. The Banished Prince- cursed to chase the Avatar forever...but lately I've realized that I'm free to determine my own destiny. Even if...I'll never be free of my mark."

"At least a scar can be explained." Brenan sat down on the ground. "I think we can call that truce now."

"What are you talking about?" Zuko looked between the two of us.

"We're marked too." I sat down next to my twin. "But it's our hair- we don't know where it came from or why we have it but it shows the world we're different."

"So it judges us before we can even speak."

"Sounds rough." Zuko sat down as well. "Do you have any idea why you have pink hair?"

Brenan shrugged. "Nope- but I've never really bothered to find out."

"I think it's from my parents…" I brought my knees to my chest. "My real parents...turns out I'm adopted. No one really knows where I came from. All I have is this-" I took out my tag once again. "-it's the only clue I have to figure out where or who they are but no one seems to know anything."

"I can't recognise anything of it except that it's made of some type of crystal and gold so that family must have been important." Zuko gently rotated it in his hands, aware that it was still around my neck. Now he turned to Brenan. "Now that I think about it, how come you were never there when Brittany and Adam visited? And why do you refer to the king and queen as her parents?"

"Adam doesn't still talk to you guys- does he?" I asked, already feeling the dread pool in the base of my stomach.

"Occasionally, he used to- but I wouldn't know of recently." Zuko ran a hand through his hair. "I haven't been home in awhile...but that doesn't answer my questions."

Brenan bit his lip before sighing. "Can you keep a secret? Like a big secret?"

"...yes."

"We're not actually-"

**_BOOM_**

The walls exploded behind us- startling all three of us. When the dust cleared it revealed Aang, Katara and Iroh. Instantly a smile appeared on the pink haired kids faces. "Aang! Katara!"

We both ran toward the older kids and gave them a hug, each switching when we had filled the maximum time for hugs. "We knew you would come!"

"Uncle!" Zuko frowned. "I don't understand- what are you doing with the Avatar?"

Aang raised an eyebrow. "Saving you that's what."

The older boy stepped forward but was stopped by his uncle. "Zuko, it's time we talked." Iroh then turned to us. "Go help your other friends! We'll catch up with you!"

Aang and Katara both nodded before turning on their heels and heading out the way they came. "Come on you two-" Katara called out. "-Azula has started a coup. We need to hurry."

Brenan nodded in response and only gave Zuko a mock minecraftian salute (a fist over the heart with your left hand). "I bet I'll see you again. Good luck with your uncle."

Then he left me alone. I smiled and waved at the two males. "I hope we can be friends again Zuko. Take care of each other, ok?"

"She has" grown a lot since those days, hasn't she?" I heard Iroh say as I ran after the kids in front of me. We ran through the tunnel- taking mostly what was a straight line until we reached the old city. I started panting not long after. "What do we do now?"

"We need to find Sokka and Toph!" Katara replied.

**_FOOSH_**

Blue flame appeared behind us- Aang earthbended a wall just in time to block it. It was stronger than it looked and blew up whatever cover we had. Katara then ran from the sides and picked up the water from the river- attacking Azula with all that she could muster. Azula for her part- fire bended up her own cover, covering up her whole being with steam. As the cloud expanded, she shot into the air and fired at us from above. Katara and I then used the river to block the shots- protecting both airbenders behind us.

Aang then crumbled the pillar she landed on, forcing her back onto common ground- with one of us on either side of her. She couldn't attempt to fire at all four of us but we were somewhat at a stand still. This is until a red ball of fire crashed near Azula- signaling that a new fighter had entered the arena. He walked closely towards us, sowing us that he was not afraid to fire and that he would choose his side then and there.

It all happened so fast.

He locked eyes with Aang and fired.

Luckily the Avatar saw this coming in time and airbended, not only the fire away bug managed to distance himself as well. Suddenly Azula turned and fired at Katara. I blocked that shot as Brenan went to help Aang. Katara and I traded blows as we distracted her and moved her attention around. Katara caught her by the arm while I caught her by her foot with our water tentacles and attempted to pull her down and immobilize her. Zuko came out of nowhere and broke the water- freeing his sister.

Now that our attention was on Zuko- Azula turned her attention to Aang who was just getting out of of a ditch- Brenan at his side, helping him up. I gasped and ran after the older girl, leaving Katara to fend off Zuko by herself. The older girl stopped a few paces before the airbenders, freezing me in my tracks to wait for someone to break first. Unluckily for me, she created a burst of flame behind her like a rocket to shoot herself forward.

In a panic I brought a bunch of rocks in front of me as a shield and ducked down. It was only for a few seconds but in front of me I could see Aang be launched into the air by the collision- crystal shards flying everywhere. "AANG!"

With Aang out of commision Azula turned heel and blasted me against the wall. Brenan was the next to go- having stood no chance against the older girl. While I tried to grab my berrings I could hear Katara in the distance being shot at by both firebenders and promptly taken out as well. To the far right of the arena there was an earthquake of sorts that proved to be Aang coming back into battle and destroying the ground he landed on and earthbending toward the Fire Nation royalty.

With no warning a Dai Lee agent appeared and sht Aanginto the air again- knocking him far away from where any of us were. Suddenly more agents started to appear- surrounding us all. I used pure determination to will myself to stand up and fight once again and make my way to regroup with my friends.

I pulled more water from the river toward me and had the whip ready to strike whenever.

The world paused.

Aang had barricaded himself in a tent of crystals that started to glow. '_He's going into the Avatar State...'_ Suddenly the tent he made exploded and he floated up and out of it with light appearing through his eyes and tattoos as I had grown accustomed to seeing him in. The Dai Lee stepped back- afraid of the results but Azula struck him.

With lightning.

Through his heart, through his back.

I couldn't hear myself scream tbu I could certainly feel the ground cracking underneath me. And I could certainly see the water around me freeze threateningly, trapping the Dai Lee agents where they stood within a thirty foot radius.

Katara reacted fast enough to catch him before he fell to his inevitable death. Brenan blasted the agents that were still standing into whatever place he could while I ran to my friends. Zuko and Azula stood there, in front of the four of us, waiting to strike again.

A separate fire blast caught our attention- bringing it to Iroh who was a little late to the party. "You've got to get out of here!" He said- jumping in front of us as a shield. "I'll hold them off as long as I can!"

Katara and Brenan held onto Aang as Katara wrapped the three of them with water- bringing them up to the surface. I followed close behind as we escaped through the waterfall- casting one last glance to the Fire Nation Prince. "Why?"

When we reached the surface, Brenan offered to go get the others while Katara and I protected Aang. He returned with the rest of the crew in record time- helping us all get on top of Appa as we flew away from Ba Sing Se. The Earth King and Bosco joined us for the flight, somehow managing to escape among the chaos.

It was already night time.

It was eerily calm despite our trauma as well but we all waited on baited breath as Katara took out her vial. '_The water from the North Pole.'_

Gently the girl put Aang for rest against Appa's fur and applied the water to Aang's back where he had most of the damage. His body soaked up the water but there was no immediate change to the wound. Katara broke down crying, cradling the airbender against her.

Aang glowed once- then groaned.

He was going to live.

That's all we cared about then and there. When we calmed down from our emotional wrecks- we let the boy sleep. Brenen stared at him from his spot next to me- eyes wet with unshed tears. "What do we do now?"

"The Earth's Kingdom…" The king looked behind us "...has fallen. I would need to go into hiding...so will you kids."

"We can drop you off with refugees from Omashu." Soka said solemnly. "We'll figure out what to do with Appa and how we can hide ourselves… somehow."

"You think we could go to dad?" Katara whispered.

Toph sighed. "That might just be our best chance- do we have any other choices?"

I sniffled- feeling the stress course through the remainder of my system. '_Why Zuko? I thought- I thought-'_

"Hey." Sokka put a hand on my shoulder. "We're going to be ok. We can go to our father and conjure up something up. But first we have to drop off the Earth King."

"I"m not king anymore." He sighed. "With my kingdom gone, what does that make me?"

"You'll get it back!" Brenan wiped his eyes. "We'll make sure of it- just hang tight. We still have the solar eclipse as our window."

The ride was silent after that.

We managed to fly to where the refugees were camped and dropped off the former king there. When they inquired of the recent events… they were less than thrilled to be told of the fall of Ba Sing Se. The group was gracious enough to allow us to stay the night and gave us hot food to eat. We made our way back onto Appa and flew to Chameleone Bay where the water tribe warriors were supposed to still be stationed.

Aang didn't wake up through all of this.

It took us the whole day to travel but we did make it to the bay where the men were stationed. Hakota was more than willing to help. "We can't stay in the bay for much longer anyway." He said, splitting apart the spoil of a successful defence with the men around him. "We managed to commandeer one of their ships. We can sail on that, you kids and a few of the men to man it. There should still be uniforms on board. We would be hiding in plain sight."

"That's perfect." Sokka smiled.

I bit the inside of my cheek. "Can we get Appa a new saddle before though?"

"Rest for a few days while we take care of the stranglers." Hakota ruffled my hair. "We can make the saddle and then we'll be on our way I hope you'll allow me to join you."

"Why wouldn't we dad?" Katara tilted her head. "Of course you can dad."

"Then it's settled."

Aang still hadn't woken up even once.

As the days passed which turn into weeks- Aang had made little progress but steady progress. Waking up for a very small intervals of time that we monopolized to get water and nourishment into this system. He never seemed to know what was going on or focus on our faces. The boy would drink, take a bite of whatever broth we had and fall back asleep.

It wouldn't be until a full three weeks passed that he would regain full consciousness again.


	11. Fire Nation Disguise

The day Aang woke up was needless to say a happy one. Poor boy was confused as all be to wake up in a Fire Nation warship. Katara took it upon herself to explain to the Avatar what we were doing on that ship. Brenan and I watched from the sidelines as Hakota tried to talk to the kids but was brushed off by Katara (multiple times). Aang paid no mind and offered his hand to the chief.

Brenan chuckled. "Why is she so bitter all of sudden?"

I shrugged. "Dunno- maybe she's embarrassed? It has been awhile since she's seen him."

"She saw him like a few weeks ago before Ba Sing Se fell."

"But she's stuck with him now after not interacting for two years- it might be that she doesn't know how to have a dad again."

"That could be it." Brenan replied, looking out onto the ocean that we sailed through. "I'm glad Aang is back though- gave us quite the scare."

"I'm glad I didn't have to lose another close friend." I smiled, seeing the water tribe girl lead the airbender away. "I probably would have lost my mind."

"Do you think you would have left?" Brenan turned to me."Like you did with the ninja?"

"I...don't know." I blinked. _'I guess I did leave them after Zane died...but he wasn't the reason I left._' "I don't think so. I found you here, and don't you dare think that I would leave _you_ that quickly. You're important to me"

"I'm glad you don't hate me."

"Why on earth would I hate you?" I took a shocked step back. "How could anyone hate you?"

"I don't know...it didn't stop her from hating me though."

"Her? Who's her? I'll kick in the face!"

"Just my...sister…"

"Oh."

"Did you ever feel like your brother hated you?" Brenan turned to look at me- resting his head in his hand. I turned around to look at the sea instead of his eyes. "No- he cared a lot about me up until I got hurt… I thought then that it would be better if I left… so he wouldn't have to worry any more."

"I don't think that's how that works."

I frowned- only now having mt faulty logic pointed out to me. "Maybe not but I don't want to go back. Even if there's danger- I've made more friends than I've never had before. Besides I want to know more about where I came from- who I am. I wouldn't be able to to do that back home."

From the corner of my eyes I saw Katara lead Aang away and back into the actual ship where I assumed she'd take a look at his injury again. Now that he was actually awake she could focus her healing on where he hurt most. "You kids should head to be." Hakota walked up to us. "It's already late - you can talk to Aang in the morning.""Alright Chief!" Brenan gave a two fingered salute. "Off to dream land it is."

I softly smiled. '_If I leave- I'll have to leave you too Brenan.'_

Aang was a lot stronger in the morning and joined us to eat breakfast in our makeshift circle. Sokka ate his food the fastest so he took to explain what happened in more detail. "After what happened in Ba Sing Se, we had to get you to safety. We flew back to Chamelion Bay where we found my father and the other water tribe men. The Earth King wanted to travel the world so we dropped him off with the refugees from Omashu and he took off from there. We came back after the water tribe men took a hold of one of the Fire Nation ships and we made it our disguise. Since then we've travelling west- we crossed over the Serpent's Pass a few days ago. We've a few Fire Nation ships but none of them bothered us."

Aang took a deep breath- taking all of the information in. "What now?"

"We've been working on a modified version of the invasion plan." Hakota said.

"It's Sokka's invasion plan." Katara snapped.

"Yes...Sokka's plan. We won't be able to able to mount a massive invasion without the support of the Earth Kingdom's armies. But the solar eclipse will still leave the Fire NAtion vulnerable."

"So we're planning a smaller invasion." Sokka grinned. "A small ragtag team of all of our friends and allies from all around the Earth Kingdom - we already ran into Pipsqeak and Naduke."

"Good to see you again Aang." The bigger one said. '_I'm still confused as to where they came from but Brenan and the others seem to trust them.'_

"And the best part is-" Sokka continued. "-the solar eclipse isn't even our biggest advantage. We have a secret...you."

"Me?" Aang raised an eyebrow.

"Yup." Sokka's smile grew wider. "The whole world thinks you're dead. Isn't that great?!"

Brenan and I cringe as Aang stared at the older boy slack jawed. Brenan wiped his hand over his face, sighing. "That could have been said a little better."

I swallowed that last of my food, putting my bowl aside. "Agreed."

"The world thinks I'm dead?!" Aang stood up. "How is that good news?! That's terrible!"

"No it's great!" Sokka stepped toward him. "It means the Fire Nation won't be hunting us anymore. And even better they won't be expecting you on the Day of Black Sun."

"No no no no no-" Aang ran his hands through his hair. "You have no idea- this is so messed up!"

A loud honk came from an approaching ship, turning all of out attention to it. "I'll handle it." Aang opened his glider. "The Avatar is back."

Bu then he doubled over in pain- refusing to stop as he positioned himself to hop into the air. "Aang wait!" I cried out. "They don't know we're not Fire Nation!"

"Everyone just stay calm." Hakota put his stolen helmet on his head. Aang put his glider away. "Bato and I will take care of this."

"Those of us who couldn't have uniform (us girls- Appa and Momo) went into hiding- making Aang join us. He grounded under his breath. "I hate not being able to do anything."

Brenan patted the boy on the back- looking over our hidey hole. "Hopefully you won't need to."

Soon the other ship docked next to ours and lowered a plank so that soldiers could crossover. Hakota bowed in respect towards the men who immediately started complaining. "Commander! Why are you off course? All western ships are supposed to be moving towards Ba Sing Se to support the occupation."

Actually we're from...the eastern fleet." Hakota looked to his buddy. "We have some orders to deliver some cargo."

"Ah- the eastern fleet. The man smiled knowingly. "Well nice of Admiral Shan to let us know that he was ending one of the ships our way."

"I'm sure Admiral Shan meant no disrespect sir." Bato said. The other man rolled his eyes. "How hard would it have been to send a note and a hawk our way?"

"Next time we'll send two hawks to make sure you get the message." Hakota smiled. The two generals then bowed to each other while the two on our side returned to the ship. The men then started to walk away to their own shp but decided that we were now the enemy and because of their suspicion, they would sink the ship. Toph's eyes widened as she jumped out of the hidey hole. "They know!"

She then bended the metal of the ship to colased the bridge, sending the three soldiers into the sea. Katara then called me over to summon the sea between the two ships and push the other ship as far away as we could. Those at the bridge of the ship then started to push us forward so we can make our quick escape. Brenan was biting his lip beside me. "We're screwed aren't we?"

"A little bit."

A fire ball then hit the side of the ship- nearly sending us off of us feet. A second one came only a breath later- damaging the side of the ship once again- weakening the metal. Toph then shot a giant puck of rock at the other ship successfully taking out one of the catapults. She then blocked the third ball of flames causing an explosion- sending debri on both sides. When the other ship shot a hook into the hull, I took upon myself to freeze the hole over. Once there was no more risk of water getting into the ship- Katara created a whirlpool and steamed up the whole area.

I stared in awe- watching the steam explode over and around us. '_She's so much stronger than me.'_

The ship followed us pace for pace though and continuously shot fireballs at us. My new job was to put out the fires it started.

"How're we doing?" Toph cried out.

Sokka frowned. "Honestly- It couldn't really get any worse."

The comic timing was too good.

Thought the SeaHorse Serpent.

"The universe loves proving me wrong doesn't it?!" He yelled in vain.

"You make it too easy!"

To our fortunate luck. The other ship the hit the beast with one of their fireballs making it turn on them instead- letting us go free. Sokka grinned. "Thank you The Universe!"

From there on out it was smooth sailing. Katara and I would take turns refreezing the ice scab for the ship until we reached a port for supplies. No one knows but I learned that I could put the water into my inventory so when asked, I just said I cleaned up the mess. On the night we docked the five of us went to see Aang to see if he was interested in leaving the ship- at least for food. The airbender put a hand on his stomach as it grumbled. "I am pretty hungry. Dinner sounds pretty good right now."

"Great!" Brenan grinned taking out the scarf we had planned. "Just put this around your head- it'll cover your arrow."

"I'm not going out if I can't wear my arrow proudly." He barked.

"Aang please be practical." Sokka rolled his eyes. His eyes.

Katara put a hand on both of the boys shoulders. "You guys go on ahead. Catch up without us."

"But we never get to hang out anymore." Brenan whined. "Not like we used to."

I grabbed hi hand. _'He's been through a lot- don't take too personally.'_

Brenan sighed at my text but made no move to argue as Toph and Sokka lead the way out of the room. "We weren't asking for much." '_Spoke too soon.'_

"It's like asking you two to cover your hair, I guess." Sokka started.

"But we do have to cover our hair." I countered, putting a scarf over my head as I spoke. "...and he has done it before...in Omashu or anywhere else where we had to stay low."

Anger grew in the pit of my stomach- I was now too caught up in using my own logic to remember that not only two minutes ago I was fine with him not wanting to cover his arrow.

Diner was eaten in somewhat jovial tune despite my sulking (not to mentions Brenan's). After a while I was able to forget the event and join in on the jokes and the stories being passed around our table. Once we returned, we set off into the water once again.

Brenan and I stared over the railing of the ship and talked until the sun went down. He claimed he was going to go bed and left me there all by myself. It didn't bother me though and I stared out into the distance, playing with the water as discreetly as I could- bending it up onto the deck and straight to her father who was talking with his right hand man. Guy number two left the two on their own. It seemed fine until approximately three seconds later KAtara cried out. "He's gone!"

"What?"

'_Yeah- what?'_

"Aang.." Her voice wobbled. "He took his glider and disappeared. He has this ridiculous notion that he has to save the world alone… that's it's all his responsibility."

"Maybe that's his way of being brave." Hakota sighed.

"Aang's gone?" I stepped toward them. "Why would he- where would he-"

"I don't know." Katara snapped. "But I **do** know that it's not brave- it's selfish and stupid! We could be helping him and I now the world needs him but doesn't he know how much we need him too?! How could he just leave us behind?!"

Hakota looked to the side and I felt like I stepped into something for far beyond my friend limits. "You're talking about me too aren't you?"

"How could you leave us dad?"

"I should get out of here." I started taking small steps away from the duo as Katara cried her heart out. "I know we had Gran Gran and she loved us but...but … we were just so lost without you."

I was by the door now and I slowly moved out of earshot from their conversation. "Brittany- what are you still doing up?"

I jumped.

It was just Sokka.

"Oh my … NOTCH! Don't do that." I cried. "Katara just told your dad that Aang is gone."

"What?"

"Yup- where's the closest island?"

And the search was on!

Kind of.

We figured that it would be faster if we just took Appa and catch up with Aang wherever he was and simply regroup with the water tribe men on the day of the eclipse.

So we rallied our group and went out to find the boy who was cast awayed on a crescent island built with a volcano still flaring with lava. Our first course of action was a group hug. When we broke apart Aang said. "I have so much to do."

"We know." Brenan smiled- wrapping his arm around the airbender. "But you'll have our help."

"And you didn't think you could get out of training just by coming to the Fire Nation, did you?" Tpoh grinned. "You and Giggles still have a lot to learn when it comes to earthbending."

'_She's actually gonna teach me?!'_ I grinned.

Aang smiled for a bit before turning to the older kids. "What about the invasion?"

"We'll join up with my dad for the invasion on the day of the eclipse." Sokka smiled.

The ocean then pushed something up against my leg, making me very uncomfortable. "What the- what's this?"

It was Aang's staff- all broken beyond repair.

"Oh. It's your glider."

Aang took it from me and held it in front of him. "It's ok. If someone saw it, it would give away my identity. It's better for now that no one knows I'm alive."

In a fit of determination he launched himself up into the air onto a nearby cooled magma and stabbed his glider into it.

Within seconds it caught on fire- ending on era.

We watched it burn in a respectful silence until there were only ashes left. Brenan sighed. "What now?"

"We need to get off of this island." Aang rubbed his bandages absentmindedly. "But everyone in the Fire Nation would recognize Appa."

"We can bend a cloud over him." Katara gave Aang support as we all headed to Appa. "Brittany and I can handle it."

"I'm pretty sure I can still bend a cloud."

"Just don't strain yourself." I shrugged and pulled the boy next to me onto the saddle. "Ready?"

"Let's do this."

Appa then took to the air under Sokka's direction as Katara and I bended whatever clouds were nearby to cover us we moved through the skies. We were only flying for twenty minutes before Aang pointed out some potential cover we could use. "Look- I think I see a cave down there."

"Shh! Not so loud!" Sokka hissed. We landed on a small but populated island and Aang airbended the remaining cloud away. Sokka immediately jumped off of the sky bison and looked over the rocks the cave was hidden by. "Good job with the cloud cover but next time let's be the kind of cloud that knows how to keep its mouth shut."

"Yeah-" Toph rolled her eyes. "-wouldn't want to let a bird hear us chatting up there and turn us in."

"Hey!" Sokka pouted. "We're in enemy territory- those are enemy birds." One then hopped on his head an squacked.

We laughed.

When our giggles died down we all started headed towards the cave and glanced around. It was big- spacious- but it was a little off putting. "Ok-" Sokka started. "-so this is how we'll be living until the invasion. Hiding in case - after cave… after cave… after cave…"

"Sokka we don't need to become cave people." Katara rolled her eyes. "What we need is some new clothes!"

"Yeah- blending in is better than hiding out." Aang shrugged. I perked up at the prospect, taking in my worn out and tattered jeans and scuffed t-shirt. Brenan wasn't in any batter shape. It truly was time for an upgrade. "If we get Fire Nation disguises-" Aang continued. "- we'll just be just as a safe as we would be hiding in a cave."

"Plus they have real food out there!" Toph made herself comfortable on the nearby rocks. "Does anyone want to sit in the dirt and eat cave hoppers?"

She then punched the wall beside her and dozens of white little cricket like insects hopped out and away from her. Momo jumped right for them. Sokka sighed. "Looks like we got outvoted sport. Let's go get some new clothes!"

"But where would we get them?" I tilted my head.

"There was a laundry mat that we passed by earlier." Brenan shrugged. "We can start there."

"Gerat let's go." Aang grinned, leading the way out of the cave. As we got closer to it though Aang slowly lost confidence and started to hang out with me in the back of the group. "I don't know about this guys. These clothes belong to somebody." He said when we reached the clothes lines.

"I'm not big on stealing either." I bit my lip. "Is there any other option?"

"I call the silk robe!" Katara then jumped over the rocks that were hiding us and dashed to the lines and picked out the clothes she wanted. Aang shared a look with me- the discomfort melting off of his face. "Well if it's essential for our survival… then I call the suit!"

Everyone else ran forward- picking the red clothes off of the lines and putting them aside to run back and to get another piece for their outfit. Toph and I ended up with a similar outfit. Burgundy pants with a sleeveless top and a red scarf that acted as a belt around our waist. Brenan a look more fitted to match Aang who could have easily passed a school boy. Katara walked up to us after changing into her clothes and asked. "How do I look?"

Aang started to blush and nervously scratched his head while Brenan flashed an apologetic smile. "Your necklace?"

"Oh." Her smiled faltered. "It is a bit obvious that it's water tribe, isn't it?"

"We can go into town and get a different necklace." I offered. "That way it won't feel so weird to not have anything on your neck."

"That's not a bad idea." Sokka ruffled my hair. "Any one got any change?"

The trip to town was shorter than I thought but the only one who bought accessories were Katara, Toph and Sokka. Momo was then stuffed into Aang's vest as he explained a bit of his past. "I used to visit my friend Cuzon a hundred years ago- so everyone just follow my lead and stay cool or as they say in the Fire Nation- stay flaming!"

"This isn't going to end well, is it?" I grimaced, casting a quick look to Brenan who only shrugged. **'Probably not but why not watch from the sidelines?'**

I don't think anyone actually noticed but ended up following Aang single file. The airbender then passed by a man calmly eating some meat on a stick and said. "Greetings my good hotman!"

Sokka shrugged towards the guy (who looked confused as heck) to show that we had no idea what he was doing either.

The man stared on. "Hi...I guess?"

We walked until we reached a food shop. "We're going to a meat place?" Aang frowned.

"Come on Aang~" Sokka grinned. "Everyone here eats meat- even the meat!"

We looked over to some caw hippo hybrid eat multiple chunks of meat in front of it. My nose scrunched up in distaste. "That's not...normal?"

Aang just seemed disgusted. "You guys go ahead...I'll just get some lettuce out of the garbage."

"You know we can go find some vegetables elsewhere right?" Brenan raised an eyebrow. "This isn't the only place we're going to shop."

"I'll just wait outside."

I followed the older kids with Brenan right behind me as we picked out what sounded the best and most familiar to us. When we came outside with our purchased goods Aang was nowhere to be found. "Uh...where did Aang go?"

"To go get that lettuce probably." I sighed. "I thought he'd wait for us."

"We'll just meet up at the cave then and put some of the spears on Appa for the day. I'm sure he''l meet us there." Sokka turned on his heel and started to lead the group away.

"What if Aang was in danger?" Katara tried to stop her brother. "Shouldn't we at least check for him?"

"If he was in trouble we all would have heard it." Toph shrugged. "He's not very subtle."

"She has a point." Brenen patted Katara on her shoulder. "I'm sure Aang is fine- like Sokka said, he'll meet us back at the cave."

"Alright- if you all think so." She relented.

We made it back to the cave a little before sunset and go to making our current hidey hole as comfortable as possible. By the time the fire was running and the sun was nearly down- Aang decided to come back.

"Where on Earth have you been?" Katara called out. "We've been worried sick!"

"I got invited to play with some friend after school." The boy took off his headband.

"AFTER WHAT?!"

"I enrolled in a Fire Nation school" He shrugged. "And I'm going back tomorrow."

"Enrolled in what?!"

"How?" I blinked.

"Oh- they thought I was a student since this is a school uniform." Aang picked at his clothes.

Brenan's eyes widened. "I'm going to get new clothes…"

"It would probably be better for you." Aang sat down. "They almost didn't let me keep my headband because they don't allow head gear so they'll recognize you by your hair."

"Look I'm trying to be mature and not shoot down you idea." Sokka sighed. "But it sounds… really terrible."

"Yeah- we got our outfits. What do you need to go to school for?" Topg frowned.

"Every minute I'm in that classroom I'm learning new things about the Fire Nation, I already have a picture of Fire Lord Ozai." He took the printed picture to show us. '_He looks...so normal…'_ "And here's one I made out of noodles!"

"Impressive I admit. But I still think it's too dangerous." Sokka didn't let up.

"I guess we'll never find out the secret river then. It goes right to the Fire Lord's palace. We were supposed to learn about it in class tomorrow…"

"Just let the guy go." Brenan sighed. "Any information helps."

"Ok we'll stay a few more days."

"Flameo hotman!" He then ran to go clean himself up as Brenan turned to me. "Flameo?"

I shrugged "Don't look at me I don't know."

He furrowed his eyebrows.** 'But you've been there before!'**

'_The PALACE not the actual nation! I didn't even know there was a river!'_

"We should all try to catch up on some sleep." Katara sighed. "We'll figure something out tomorrow."

"Ok Katara." I smiled and skipped over to Appa and took my blanket. "I no longer have to share with Brenan!"

"I'm glad you won't hog the blanket anymore!" My twin smirked beside me as he got his own down.

I rolled my eyes. "I did not! You always stole it!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night."

I scoffed but fell asleep relatively easy. Aang left to go to school and all was normal until he came back. "Sokka! Katara! You need to be my parents!"

"What?"

"Some guy was picking a fight with me but I got in trouble and they went to speak to my parents! We don't have much time!"

Sokka nearly screeched. "What did you do?!"

"Nothing! I didn't even hit him!"

"We might as well go." Katara sighed, already changing her hair. "We can work something out as we get here- you three!" She turned to me, Brenan and Toph. "Don't do anything drastic and stay hidden. We'll be back soon."

And like that they left.

Jokingly I turned to Brenan and asked. "Want to blow something up?"

Toph snickered. "I know I liked you guys for a reason."

Brenan tilted his head. "Because we blow stuff up?"

"Sure- not up?" She laughed. "Come on Giggles! I've got to show you earthbending."

I grinned and ran (read: sprinted) after her. "You're not going to do the same to me like you did Aang did you?"

"No no-" She waved me off. "-he's a special case. I know you've already bended so you're different."

"Please don't freak me out." I took a deep breath. "I've only bended when I'm borderline panicking."

"Just move the rock." She rolled her eyes and pulled up a boulder. "Get into a horse stance and feel the rock."

I nodded- getting into the position I've seen Aang do before pushing the rock forward.

Except it exploded instead.

"I'm not sure how you did that." She laughed. "But you're very keen on explosions."

I laughed a little fighting down my nerves. "Sorry- got them on my brain."

"Try again."

And we kept at it until Aang and the water tribe kids came back. I've made significant progress by then, which only meant controlling the movement of the rock and the speed it moved. Which in my case is better than simply blowing it up.

"That settles it! No more school for you young man!" Sokka yelled.

"I'm not ready to leave." Aang stood up. "I'm having fun for once- just ebing a normal kid. You don't know what it's like Sokka- you get to be m=normal all the time."

Toph laughed.

"Listen guys- those kids at school are the future of the Fire Nation. If we want to change this place for the better we need to show them a little taste of freedom."

"What can you do for a country of deprived little fire monsters?" Sokka took off his fake beard.

"Sokka!" I whined. '_They're just kids.'_

"I'm gonna show them a secret dance party!" Aang grinned.

Sokka frowned. "Go to your room!"

"That doesn't sound half bad though." Brenan tilted his head. "We all could use a stress reliever of sorts. It's not like it's going to get any easier."

"I'm with Aang and Brenan!" I called out.

Katara shrugged. "We'd need to light this place up then."

I brunned. "I've got some torches!"

"We have candles...a lot of candles actually." Sokka rummaged through our bags. "Why do we have so many candles again?"

Then we got to work. The next day Aang invited all that he could from the school to come to the cave.

"This is perfect!" Aang cried. "Toph can you add some platforms?"

She did it- no questions asked.

"I can't believe we're having a dance party." Sokka started lighting some of the candles with the torches I put up. "It seems… so… silly."

"Don't think of it as a dance party." Aang waved him off. "Think of it as an cultural event, celebration the art of fancy footwork."

"They're coming!" Toph cried out. "Everyone stop bending!"

"Sorry buddy." Aang walked up to Appa. "You should probably wait out back."

He roared in protest but loyalty made his way to the back of the cave. "I know- you've got fancier feet than anybody...and six of them."

The kids who could play brought their instruments and stepped on the platform that Toph had made earlier. Their fast paced music filled up the entire space as Aang focused on the other arrivals. "Ladies and gentlemen! The Flameos!"

"Such an original band name." I snickered.

No one wanted to move though.

"What do we do now?" One of them asked.

"You start dancing."

"I don't think my parents would want me to dance in a cave." Said another.

"Yeah! What if someone finds out?!"

"Oh boy." Aang sighed. "Listen guys- dancing isn't something you think about- it's a form of self expression that no one can take away from you."

"Maybe it's different in the colonies Cuzon but we don't do that here." A different student spoke up. '_Cuzon?'_

"Sure you do!~" Aang grinned. "You have for generations! It just so happens that I know several classic Fire Nation dances."

Besides me Brenan rolled his eyes. "Brittany! Dance with me!"

"What?"

"Good music is going to waste. Dance with me?"

"I don't really know how to-"

He pulled me to the open space in front of us. "Don't think- just move, ok?"

"Ok."

From out sides Aang started showing off in front of the school kids. "See! They have the right idea!"

Brenan pulled my attention away from the lingering eyes and spun me around, catching me and letting me spin away from him only to pull me close to him again. He spun out of the way, taking my arm with him, tangling our limbs before letting me go and we stepped away from each other just as the song stopped. I laughed. "Where did you learn how to dance?"

"Adrianne like to hold parties and her friend wanted to include me." He blushed, straightening out the hood on his head. "You follow well."

"Thank you." I fixed the scarf to hide the hair that started to peek through. Aang then got one of the girls from the crowd to dance with him as the did in Ba Sing Se. Brenan and I shared a look before copying the two of them on the dance floor. Soon more kids started to trickle in and the dance as well. "Yeah- that's it!" The airbender cheered. "That's the sound of happy feet."

I got a small headache.

Soon the rest of the kids joined in. "Alright- go with that!" Aang cheered some more. "Everybody freestyle!"

Some kids went crazy- throwing their limbs into the air however they wanted to. Brenan and I settled for spinning each other around (and occasionally stepping on each other) to not drag to much attention to ourselves. As much as they started to dance, they stopped in favor of watching Aang and Katara dance together instead. They started by walking around each other- connected by their wrists- every so often channing direction before moving their arms in a way that would move water if you were a bender. Then they went back to the wrist walking. A small blush appeared on Katara's face before the two of them took off- moving under and over each other as if they were fighting but coming back together. They then started to do flips and bends around each other but always with similar movements. Aang caught her in a dip just as the music stopped causing the audience they gathered to clap. As their friend and spectator, I clapped as well.

With the full ice broken- everyone got into the full swing of the music and no one held back anymore. Our party was crashed though when some old man walked in followed by four other individuals.

"He's the one we want!"The old man said. "The boy with the headband!"

The three guards then ram toward Aang leaving the old man and an older boy behind. Aang's eyes widened. "Uh-oh!"

He then ran into the crowd before the guards could catch him. From the corner of my eyes I saw multiple kids put on headbands and move through the crowd. "That's not the one!" Oldy yelled. "He has to still be here! Don't let him leave the cave!"

While the guards kept picking the wrong kids- the old man himself ran into the crowd and picked up a poor youngen who just lost his first few teeth. Soon all the kids started to wear headbands confusing the adults and surrounding them. With the help of those in the back, our group managed to run all the way to the back of the cave without being caught and we made our escape. Quickly and quietly we hopped on top of Appa and flew away… Sokka still wanted to keep the fake facial hair though. "It's permanently glued to me skin." He said.

"Way to go Dancy Pants." Toph laughed. "I think you really did help those kids. You taught them to be free."

"I don't know." Aang shrugged. "It was just a dance party- that's all."

"Well- that was some dance party Aang." Katara then leaned over and kissed te Avatar on the cheek. I rolled my eyes. "Get a room!"

"Well I had fun!" Brenan leaned against Appa's saddle. "The drinks weren't so bad either."

"Yeah-" I nodded and followed Brenan's lead. "I liked it."

"Flameo sir." Sokka slow clapped. "Flameo..."

I yawned. "So- where to now?"

"Another cave?" Toph suggested.

"Who knows? Let's just fly for a while."


	12. Fire Nation Tourism

After a while we figured we had gotten a far enough distance away from the camp that we would have to fly low again. But with nowhere to go we had to get App to swim in some gross water in an effort to lay low. Aang spent the time with Appa in the river, playing a game of Marco Momo with the flying lemur. "Guy- I think the water is polluted." He said- airbending the muck onto the rest o f us. Once we was clean- he cleaned us off as well- a sheepish smile on his face as an apology.

Sokka sighed. "At least that would explain why I can't catch a fish around here because normally my fishing skills are...off the hook? Get it?"

The others groaned. Toph smirked. "Too bad your skills aren't on the hook." Then they laughed.

"I giggled. "Don't worry Sokka- I find it funny."

When our giggles subsided, Katara sighed. "It looks like we'll need to go somewhere else to get food...assuming it would fit in Sokka's master schedule."

"It's doable." Sokka bit his lip- looking at the massive scroll he undid. "But that means only two potty break today."

"Maybe we can get some food there." Brenan pointed ahead of us to a small town in the distance. When we reached a well enough distance- we got Appa out of the water- cleaned him off and made a little covering of moss and grass to make him look like a hill with horns. "So- where's the village?" Toph tilted her head. "I don't feel anything."

"It's in the middle of the river." I scratched my head. "How are we-"

"It sure is! My name's Doc!" A new voice called from below. "And you are?"

"We're from the… um… the Earth Kingdom colonies." Katara smiled at the old man below.

"Wow colonials." He smiled right back- believing our lie. "Hop on- I'll give you a ride into town."

"Thank you sir!" Brenan grinned and hopped down the cliff- quickly following by the rest of us as we all climbed onto the man's raft. I sat on my knees and looked at the passing goop. "Why do you live on the river?"

"Because we're a finhsing town." We all ducked as he swung his giant push stick over our heads. "At least that's how it was before the factory move in. The army makes their metal there. It moved in a few years ago and started gunking up our river. And now our little village is struggling to survive."

Our group shared a looked of concern.

The rest of the trip was filled with a little more small talk and Doc opened up a little more about his own life before we all hopped onto the dock. "Thanks for the ride!"

The town itself seems to be as emotionally polluted as the river. The moral was low and it looked as if the people weren't able to eat enough. "Look at this place…" Katara whispered. "It's so sad… we have to do something to help."

'_I want to help to but what can we do?'_ I looked to the elder girl. She seemed deep in her thoughts before Sokka cut off her sad inner monologue. "No we can't spend anymore time here. We have a bigger mission that we need to focus on. These people are on their own!"

"These people are starving!" She snapped back. "But you'd turn your back on them- how can you be so cold and heartless?!"

"I'm not turning my back, I'm just being realistic." Sokka stopped up to his sister challenge. "We can't go around helping every rinky dink town we wander into! We'd be helping them by taking out the Fire Lord!"

"Soka!" Brenan hissed. "You're too loud!"

"Hey loud mouth!" Toph actually covered his mouth with her hand. "Maybe we should be a little quieter when we talk about taking out the Fire Lord."

"Come on Katara." He started again, staring at his sister. "Be reasonable about this. Our mission has to come first."

She glared at him for a hot second before backing down and looking away. "I guess so."

"Let's just get what we need and go." Aang smiled at the older girl. She nodded in begrudging agreement as we all made our way through the two and into a smaller central marketplace. "Hey Doc!" Brenan waved. "You work here too?"

"I'm not Doc, I'm Shoe- Doc's my brother." The man from before (?) said.

"But we just saw you." Aang tilted his head. "You're even wearing the same clothes...the only distance is your hat." Doc works on the docks- that's why they call him Doc. I work on the shop- that's why I'm called Shoe."

"I don't get it." I blinked.

"Me neither." The old man ducked down to pull a shelf from below to show us what's in stock. "Now what can I getcha'? Hey- I'll give you a special deal! If you buy three fish, I'll throw in a clam for free!"

We turned up our noses at the rotting, smelly and oozing who knows what fish. "We'll… just take the fish." Sokka picked up some of the better looking ones and paid for them on the spot. "Mind telling your brother we need a ride back to shore?"

Shoe then dropped once again behind the ship countertop after handing the packaged fish to Katara. He popped up again with the same hat as before pretending to be Doc. "Hey colonials! My brother says you need a lift."

With 'Doc' leading the way we walked back to the edge of the town, got on his raft, went back to shore and met up with Appa and Momo. Brenan got to getting whatever scrap wood he could find and set in on fire. Sokka out the cauldron on top while I bended some water out of the river. Toph bended all the mud out so I passed it to Katara who placed in the cauldron. We continued this process for a few minutes until the cauldron was deemed filled and Aang placed the food into it to cook. "Our detour to town today has completely thrown off our schedule. It's gonna take some serious fenabling to bring us back on track." Sokka picked out some water and continued looking through his schedule.

"Fenable away o' schedule master." Toph rolled her eyes.

"For starters-" He invited us to look it over with him. "-looks like we're going to have to wake up forty three minutes earlier every day."

"Forty three minutes?" Brenan plopped himself onto the ground whining.

"Look we only have a few weeks to get to the Fire Lord in time for the invasion and now the eclipse! Which! By the way only lasts eight minutes! And we just lost a whole day- so if we want to make up the time and stay on schedule- we have to wake up early!" Sokka scowled, putting his hands on his hips.

I plopped down next to Brenan on the ground and groaned. "Do we truly have to?"

"Well I'm not waking up early." Toph crossed her arms. Sokka then crossed his arm over his chest. "Or...we could just cut out all our eating breaks."

"What?"

"No way!"  
"For get it!"

"I got it!" Sokka smiled triumphantly. "How's this? From now on we'll take food breaks and potty breaks at the same time."

"Gross!"

"Hey it may be gross but it's efficient." Sokka frowned. "Either way we need to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

Brenan and I sighed but finished the food that was prepared anyway. Soom after we all fell asleep with the thought of waking up early weighting over our heads. When dawn broke, everyone seemed ready to head out except for the most important team player. "What's wrong with Appa?"

"I think he might be sick." Katara said- trying to comfort the beast at the front.

"What?!" Sokka screeched from his sleeping spot. "Appa can't be sick! That's awful!"

"Wow Sokka- I didn't realize you cared so much." Toph yawned.

"Of course I care- I might as well throw away our schedule away now!"

I stared at the oldest boy in shock while the others looked ready to smack him into next week. Realizing his mistake, Sokka ran over to Appa and started to ept him. "And I'm concerned that my big furry friend doesn't feel well."

"He must have gotten sick by being in the polluted water." Toph offered. Aang walked up to the beast and started to examine him. "He doesn't look sick...you ok buddy?"

The sky bison opened his mouth so that we could have a better look. Aang wasted no time in pulling out Appa's tongue to look at it. "His tongue is purple!"

"How did it get purple?"

"Don't know but it can't be good." Aang frowned- concern over taking his features. "Katara can you heal him?"

"It looks like he needs some medicine." The girl in question said. "Maybe we can find the right herbs back in town."

So off we went! Strangely enough the town seemed livier than before. The kids were having fun- people were more care free. "Is it just me or does this place seem different?"

I nodded in agreement with Toph. "Very much so."

"The people seem happier." Brenan scratched his head. "Maybe it's a holiday?"

"Shoe, what's up with everyone today?" Sokka asked the man as we walked up to his stall.

"Something amazing happened last night." The man said. "Food was delivered to us by a mysterious and wonderful person. The Painted Lady."

"What's that?" I tilted my head. '_Never heard that name before…'_

"The Painted LAdy is part of our town's lore. They say she's a river spirit who watched over our town in times of need. I always thought she was just a legend until now ~" 'Shoe' brought out small statue and polished her hat. She looked mysterious alright but I knew that if I were to actually see her- I would scream in fear.

"See- we don't need to help these people." Sokka smiled a bit. "They already have someone to help them. All we need is medicine for our friend."

"Medicine? I'm sorry but all our medicine goes to the factory. That's why there's so many sick people in our village."

"Looks like we need to say another night so Appa can rest." Katara shrugged.

Sokka sighed but relented, knowing that there was really no way around it. "I guess you're right. Hey Shoe, do you have any more food to sell?"

The man ducked down again under the booth and pulled out two seperate fish. "Would you like the one headed fish or the two headed fish?"

Neither fish was fresh.

"Two headed!" Sokka grabbed it despite our disgust. It must have shown on our faces because he said. "What? You get more for your money that way."

We ran away from the bay and went back to Appa and occupied ourselves for the day. Meaning I was learning my earthbending with Toph while Brenan tried to touch up on his airbending with Aang. The next day we went back into town to get more food since Appa still wasn't feeling too hot. When we get there the people were celebrating The Painted Lady once again who once again came to the village and healed most of the sickly people. "Without The Painted Lady these people won't be bal eot fend for themselves." Sokka said, breaking me out my thoughts. "If she really wanted to help- she would use her spirit magic to blow up that factory. That's why this is only temporary."

"Spirit magic doesn't work that way Sokka." Aang crossed his arms. "It's more of a softer.. Wooo~~ poosh~~~."

Katara did not look amused _at all_.

"I'm sure the Avatar would know more about it anyway- being the bridge and all." Brenan grinned.

I rolled my eyes but figured that it was none of my business. Katara was a little off for the rest of the day though- sneaking glances towards the factory seemingly lost in thought. I tried to bring her out of her funk but it's hard to do that when I didn't even know what was wrong to begin with.

Another day came and went.

At night though- I woke up because in the background the factor was exploding. In a panic I searched around for everyone else to see if anyone else could hear it. Those around me were doing the same- I went to go wake Katara up but she wasn't there. It was just a bunch of grass that she stuffed under her blanket.

"How much are you willing to bet that it was Katara all along who was The Painted Lady?" Toph frowned.

"I can't believe she did this!" Sokka cried. I sighed and sat down. "Really because I can."

The sun started to rise.

Brenan yawned. "Aang's gone too...maybe he went after her?"

I looked around at our stunned group and blinked. "Toph your tongue is purple." That woke me up. "What have you been eating?"

She shrugged. Sokka borderline lost his mind. "So Appa's fine! Oh my- It's just purple berries?!"

Katara and Aang returned not long after the sun fully rose- Sokka pointed out all the evidence we gathered in the span of fifteen minutes. "What you did put our mission in danger- we're leaving right now!" He said. His sister passed him with her head down. Aang tried to pass the older boy but was momentarily stopped. "And why did you know about this?!"

"Hey- I just found out this morning."

"Guess we should pack up now." Brenan stretched his legs a bit before becoming distracted by something on the river.

"What is it Brenan?" Aang jogged up to his friend and soon we were all watching over the edge of the cliff.

"Fire Nation soldiers are heading to the village."

"What did you do?" Sokka growled, turning to the waterbender next to him.

"I...kind of destroyed their factory."

"YOU WHAT?!"

"Katara!" Brenan gasped. "That could give us away- now the people are in danger!"

"It was Sokka's idea!"

"I was joking! I also said to use spirit magic and made funny noises." Sokka facepalm. "Did you even think this through? The army is going to blame the villagers- they're headed there right now to get revenge!"

"Well what was I supposed to do?!"

"Leave! Do nothing!"

She took a breath before fully facing Sokka. "NO! I will never ever turn my back on those who need me! I'm going down to the village and I'm going to do whatever I can."

"I'm coming with you Katara." I jumped up and chased after her. Behind me I could hear Sokka jog up to us and stopped Katara by her shoulder. "Wait… I'm coming too."

"I thought you didn't want to help."

"You need me." Sokka said. "And I would never turn my back on you."

"Sokka...you really do have a heart." She smiled. "Ok, but we need to get closer."

We watched from the sidelines as the Fire Nation soldiers accused the people and set fire to a nearby hut. Katara started to get in her disguise as the soldiers hopped onto their water boats and started destroying the supports of the village- intending to bring the whole place to the ground. Together Katara and I started to conjure up a fog as Aang kept blowing out whatever it was they tried to light time and time again. Appa helped set the ambiance by roaring and gurgling into a nearby cave to help echo it towards the people. Toph took a giant boulder and pounded it into the ground to create a rhythmic and unsettling beat. Sokka was with a makeshift flute to play random but soft notes creating a mystical and frankly really creepy atmosphere. I kept creating steam as Brenan sent it up and around and we bent the cloud away to reveal Katara in her raggedy glory.

She dashed towards the village- waves gaining height as she glided over the water before she jumped onto the docks of the town. Aang was under Katara and blew air through the cracks of the boards to give the girl another wordly control. From our angle we could see Katara bend the motor boats they had into the air and throw them into the nearby mountainous rocks. Now that the guards were intimidated enough- they made their escape onto the remaining boats and left.

Only one remained.

They stood still- only for a heartbeat before the man firebended slices of the plasma toward the young girl. Suddenly she jumped into the air and the guy was knocked over and skipped into the water. '_Aang did that…'_ I smiled beside myself and lowered the fog to continue to surround only the girl. She moved back into the water and bended herself under, reappearing in front of the man. "Leave this village and never come back." She snapped. Brenan, Toph, Sokka and I hopped on a boat and made our way back into the village, just in time to greet Katara as she landed on the boards. The people were cheering in delight and praised for The Painted Lady as the fog fully started to disappear.

Doc stepped forward to greet the girl as Aang joined our group on the sidelines. "Me and my brothers really owe you a lot...Wait a minute! I know you! You're not The Painted Lady! You're that colonial girl!"

Katara lifted her hand up to face and realized that the red stripes she painted on herself were starting to come off.

"Yeah- you're the lady that gave me fish." Said a little boy. The people were starting to get riled up in anger. The old man growled. "You're been tricking us! You're a waterbender!"

"She's a waterbender!"

"How dare you act like our Painted Lady!"

The whole group started to stalk forward before Sokka stopped in between them. "Maybe she's a waterbender but she was just trying to help you! Because of her the factory won't be polluting the river and the army is gone! You should be down on your knees- thanking her!"

"Sokka-" Katara stepped around her brother- taking her hat off. "-it's ok. I shouldn't have acted as someone I'm not and I"m shouldn't have tricked you but I felt like I had to do something. It doesn't matter if The Painted Lady is real or not because your problems _are real _and this river _is real._ You can't wait around for someone to help you- you have to help yourselves."

"She's right- but what should we do?" Doc (or Shoe, I lost track) said,

"Maybe we can clean the river!" Toph yelled, lowering her voice and disappearing back into the crowd.

"Yeah- we can clean the river! Thank you- you know you're not so bad for a waterbender."

"You wouldn't mind keeping that a secret, would you?" Sokka bit his cheek.

"No problem. Keeping my mouth shut is a personal specialty. My brother Shoe on the other hand- he's a blabber mouth." Doc said.

"So- Doc, are you going to help us clean?" I tilted my head.

"No sirie little lady- I'm going to go get my brother Booshi, he loves cleaning rivers." He then took off his hat to reveal another one underneath. "Alright! I'm Booshi- let's get some river cleaning done!"

"Ah ha!" Aang grinned. "I knew you were the same guy! Both the shop owner and the boat guy."

"Oh you must be talking about my brothers Doc and Shoe!"

"No! I just saw you! You switched hats and called yourself a different name!" Aang pouted.

"Oh~ You know who does that? My brother Doc- he's crazy." The man laughed. **'He's schizophrenic- keep walking.'**

Brenan grabbed my arm and pulled my farther away from the ma in front of us.

I blinked. "What does that mean?"

"I'll explain later."

The rest of us then split into groups and filtered out the water as best as could. It took multiple days and effort from everybody but the river in time did get clean.

On the night before we left, as all stayed awake to watch the meteor shower above us. "It's amazing."

I nodded in agreement. "It's beautiful… you couldn't see the stars in Ninjago and back at home, this sort of thing didn't really happen."

"Kind of make you realize how insignificant we are."

"Eh…" Toph shrugged. "You see nothing once you see it a thousand times."

A larger comet came right in our direction, burning up in a blue light and crashed not too far away from the camp. Top then sat straight up and looked toward the crash site. Brenan and I looked toward each other and grinned. "Let's go check it out guys!"

The other looked more concerned than we did, although they made no move to stop us and our excitement as we boarded Appa. The fire caused by the meteorite grew higher every second that passed- threatening to spread. "That fire is going to destroy that town!"

"Not if we can help it!"

Katara and I stayed on Appa and started to bend the water from the creek ont the flames. From above, I could see Aang and Toph bend a trench around the flames as Brenan, Sokka and Momo stomped out any little sparks that jumped out. Soon enough Aang delivered the final blow and blasted the final water onto the remaining flames and killed it.

It was snowing.

"Good work everybody." Aang clapped his hands together, cleaning them off. We all shared an accomplished smiled.

Except for Sokka.

When morning broke we walked into the town and brought some food to eat. With his tray Aang sat next to Katara and Toph. Brenan and I sat parallel to him as Sokka pouted on the step away from the table. "These people have no idea how close they were to be toasted last night."

"Yeah- the worst part about being in disguise is that we don't get the hero worship anymore." Toph picked up a potato lookin' rice ball. "I miss the love."

"It was never about the hero worship." I swallowed my food. "We do good things because we are good people and we help other good people even if we don't get s thank you. That's what Sensei Wu wanted to teach us anyway. The ninja's still enjoyed the hero worship despite his efforts though."

"You had a good teacher then." Brenan also swallowed his food. "Was he nice?"

"He was an old man who loved tea- he was great." I smiled sorrowfully. "He accepted me with almost no questions asked." '_I wonder what they're all doing now...I haven't seen them in months…'_

"Oh boo hoo! Poor heros!" Sokka snapped from his spot. My smile fell and I looked away from the boy.

Brenan turned around and snapped at the oller boy. "What the heck Sokka- she hasn't seen them in a while, leave her alone! You think we snap at you when you talk about your dad?"

"It wasn't just towards her." Sokka looked away from us and back towards the town. "You're all so great!"

"What's your problem?" Katara frowned. "You haven't even touched your smoked sea slug."

"It's just-" Sokka sighed. "- all you guys can do this awesome bending stuff like putting out forest fires and flying around and making other stuff fly around. I can't fly around, ok? I can't do anything."

"That's not true." Katara offered. "No one can read a map like you."

Toph grinned. "I can't read at all."

"And who keeps us laughing from the sarcastic comments all the time?" Aang jumped.

"You keep us focused Sokka-" I said. "Even if we couldn't stick to it in the end, you still made us a schedule."

"I wasn't much help last night either Sokka." Brenan shrugged, eating the last of his food anyway. "I would have only made it worse."

"Look I appreciate the effort guys- really I do." Sokka sighed. "But the fact is that each of you is so amazing and so special and I'm … not. I'm just the guy in the group who's… regular."

"I'm sorry you're feeling down." Katara sat next to her brother. "I hope you know that none of us see you that way."

He made no comment.

"I know something that's gonna make you feel better." She smiled. "Follow me- let's go guys."

We showed the last of our food in out mouths and followed the water tribe children. Katara lead us to a shop of sorts just beyond the food court we were in. The smile on Sokka's face widened. "Shopping!"

The boy ran forward and immediately started to look through the weapons. "Maybe something to invigorate my fighting~ What about these?"

He picked up some nun chunks and spun them around looking like he had the situation under control until he hit himself in the head. '_Jay was like that too..'_

I stuck around Katara after that fiasco and watched as Aang tried on seperate items of armour but fell due to how heavy it was. "OH!~" Sokka cried out. "That's what I'm talking about!"

"You have a good eye." The clerk said, walking up to our group to explain the sword mounted on the wall. "That's an original from Pian Dao, the greatest sword master and sword maker in all of Fire Nation history. He lives in a big castle up the road from here."

_'Kai would like this...it's not a bad sword at all.'_

The clerk lef tus to admire it as Aang exclaimed. "That's it! That's what you needed all along Sokka!"

"A sword?" The boy in question raised an eyebrow.

"Not the sword- a master!" Aang's smile grew. "We've all had masters to help us get better."

Brenan sheepishly raised his hand. "I haven't."

"We'll find you one then- we should see if you can go see if you can go study under Pian Dao."

"That's a great idea!" Katara grinned. "I would have never gotten to where I am without Master Paku. Everyone needs a teacher."

"It... would be nice to be a master sword fighter." Sokka smiled wistfully. "Brittany- want to come with?"

I blinked and looked to my left. "I've already had a teacher in that area...I've been learning since I was six but you know who can but didn't? Brenan! You two can learn and the three of us can be awesome sword wielders!"

"What?" Brenan looked to me in shock.

"Yeah- Minecraftians are known for knowing multiple styles of fighting. It's about time Brenan learned how to use a sword."

"Brittany- you can't be serious." My twin deadpanned. "I've never even held a sword."

"That's why you should go." I smiled. He hesitated before looking to the group around him. "Do you really think I should go?"

"Of course!~"

"The more the merrier!"

"How many styles does a minecraftian typically fight in?"

That one had me stunned. '_Sword- bow and arrow- axe- hand to hand… shovel? 1, 2, 3, 4… ish?'_ I looked back up. "It depends on the person but four or five usually. Sometimes more."

"Ok, I'll go." Brenan sighed before looking at us tiredly. "It'll be like a guy day."

"What about me?" Aang blinked.

My brother smirked. "You have to keep an eye on the girls- make sure they don't try to take over the world while we're not looking."

"Alright." Sokka chuckled. "Let's go talk to Pian Dao."

"We'll just be by Appa today, ok?" Katara hugged her brother. "You two stay safe."

"We will." Brenan grinned.

And the two of them went on their journey to the castle that was truely up the road. Once again my time was spent earthbending- my waterbending put on the back burner for a while since I was drastically behind on the former. But when we were tired- we have nothing left to do. I sighed from my spot on the ground. "What now?"

"I'm all tuckered out. I've already picked my toes- twice!" Topg grinned.

Aang looked over at her. "Twice?"

"The first ones for cleaning but the second time is for that sweet picking snesation!~"

"Well-" Katara laid down, looking at the sky. "Sokka was always in charge of the schedule- I"m not sure what we should be doing."

"Plus it's hot today." Toph sighed, also laying down. Aang grinned. "How hot is it?"

"I don't know... real hot?"

"It's so hot- it's so hot that, that Momo is shedding like Appa." Katara tried.

I giggled. "That not at all what Soka would say. I wonder what Brenan is doing?"

"I guess jokes don't run in the family." Aang ran his hand over his head and got on the ground with us girls.

"Oh everyone's a critic." Katara rolled her eyes. "We should at least try to figure out where to go."

I sat up and went through Sokka's things to pull out the map. "Ok- you guys are going to have to figure it out without me because I can't read it."

Toph waved her hand over her head. "I can't read either, what's the big deal?."

"You can't read Brittany?"

"I can read...just not his." I looked away in shame. "You guys have a different alphabet. It might as well be a whole different language."

"Ok…" Katara sighed and opened the map. "When this all blows over we'll give you some leesons ok?"

I nodded.

"If we're here then-" She pointed to a spot on the map. "-and we're starting from here."

"No, no- we're over on this island." Aang pointed to the opposite side of the map.

"You noodle brains don't know what you're doing.' Topg ran a hand over her face. "I miss Sokka. Is Brenan still with him?"

"Oh I got one!" Katara cried. "If you miss him so much, why don't you marry him?"

It didn't fly.

After around ten minutes of just sitting there- Toph abruptly shot up. "They're coming!"

We all perked up and saw the two boys walking over the hill towards us. I grinned and frantically waved my hands at them. "Hey! How'd it go?!"

We all ran toward the two boys and engulfed them both in a huge hug. "We missed you two so much!"

Aang stepped back and looked excitedly at his friend. "Say something funny!"

"Funny how?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.

We giggled. I ruffled Brenan's hair. "How'd it go? You never answered me."

"It's great! It's a lot of fun!" Brenan grinned- shoving my hand away. "We get to make our own swords now."

"Really? That's sos cool!"

"Yup." Sokka grinned. "But we need help."

"With what?"

Sokka then lead us to the crash site of the meteorite. "I need to get some of that material."

**'I just want some iron ingot from home- do you have any?' **Brenan tugged my sleeve as we all hopped into the creator to get the space rock out. I looked at him before nodded. '_I'll give them to you want no one's looking.'_

**'Thank you.'**

It then became a group effort to move the rock not only out of the giant ditch it created but all the way up to the castle. Sokka then ran to the door as I passed the already formed iron I took from my time in Minecraftia. '_I'm glad they're going to be used- I thought I would be the one to use them when my own stuff broke but they were taking too much space in my inventory anyway.'_

The door opened.

And some middle aged man stepped out. "Who's this?"

"Oh these are my friends." Sokka said. "Just good Fire Nation folk." He looked at us for a moment before bowing in greeting. Sooka now looked excited. "Do you think we can make a sword out of a meteorite?"

"We'll make a sword unlike any other in the world." He said. He then turned to Brenan and asked. "You as well I presume?"

Brenan shook his head. "I wanted to use some metal from home."He then out an arm around my shoulders. "This is my sister Brittany- she was holding onto it as a keepsake but let me use it...we're from very far away."

"I see." He nodded once before allowing us to enter the castle. "Let's get started then."

Toph, Aang, Katara and I were allowed to stay as the two boy worked on making their sword. Brenan went to make his sword first since Sokka actually had to cut the meteorite into pieces first. And soon they switched places y the furnace. Brenan poured his melted metal into the mold as Sokka melted the rock.

We were sent away after that.

The following morning we were gathered into the main hall for their graduation ceremony of sorts. "Sokka and Brenan-" Pian Dao said. "-when you first arrived you were so unsure. You even seemed down on yourself Sokka. But I saw something in you both right away- I saw hearts as strong as a lion turtle and twist=e as big. And as we trained- it wasn't your skills that impressed me- no, it certainly wasn't your skills."

'_Ouch'_ I bit my lip as I saw the master handed forth both blades to the bay in front of us. "You showed something beyond that." The man continued. "Creativity. Versatility. Intelligence. These are traits that define a great swordsman. And these are traits that define you."

He bowed down and let the them take the blades. "You told me if you didn't know you were worthy… but I believe that you are more worthy than any man that I have ever trained."

"I'm sorry master." Sokka spoke up, clearly startling Brenan. "You're wrong. I"m not worthy. I'm not who you think I am. I'm not from the Fire Nation."

"I'm not either." Brenan sighed and placed his blade in front of him.

Sokka held his hand down. "I'm form the Southern Water Tribe."

"I'm from Minecraftia."

Toph and I lowered our heads- my hand son my face as Katara and Aang held various levels of shock on their own faces.

"We lied." Brenan continued. "So that we could learn swordsmanship from you. We're sorry."

Sokka tried to give the sword back while Brenan just kept staring at his on the floor.

"I'm sorry too." Pian Dao said. Without warning he took out his blade and swung at the bo boys who waste no time in drawing their own blades. We all hopped up to join the fight but Brenan and Sokka held us back. "No- this is our fight."

And so the three of them clashed- the master taking on both students at the same time with his dual sword, that no one knew he had. After a quick look over they headed outside to the open space where they could properly fight. Soon they were jumping the sword and jabbing the blades near each others faces only to have them more at the last second. Im one swift movement the master knocked Sokka nearly off of his feet and into the pond nearby. Breana ran after the man and attacked to boy Sokka the time to get back up. They then started fighting on the bridge and jumping off of the railing to dodge the masters blade. "Excellent!" He said. "Using your surprise agility against an older opponent. Smart."

The three of them ran further into the properly and out of our view but the clashes of their swords could still be heard from where we stood. I bit my lip and turned to Katara. "You think they're winning?"

"An old man taking on two spry boys who had already some experience fighting. I'm sure they're fine." She said although it seemed more to comfort himself then me. When popped up again, Brenan was knocked over after trapping one of the masters blade and crashed into the bamboo behind him- parts of his scarf already showing his hair. He ducked just in time as the man cut the plants behind him just as Sokka diverted his attention. Together our friends ran into the bamboo forest and truely to where we could not see them. The sounds of falling stalks of bamboo were heard along with Sokka's screams and Brenan's attacks before they both came running back towards us.

Just as the man started to catch up, Sokka stabbed his sword into the ground and launched a dirt attack right into his face. "Very resourceful."

Brenan and Sokka then paused and looked for a way out as the man listened for them. The both started to walk around them but then Brenan stepped on a stick- causing the man to run straight for him. In what was clearly a panic driven decision, Brenan airbended himself over the man and over to Sokka. Pian Dao heard the landing though and propelled himself in the direction of the sound, Sokka tried to block the man but with a few flicks of his wrist, he had lost his grip on the sword. Both the sword and Sokka went flying away from the adult. Brenan tried to put on a brave face but was met with the same fate. With the two blade pointed to their faces- the rest of us took that as our cue to hop over the railing and finally step in. Dao pulled his swords away. "Excellent work boys."

With a small hand signal, the butler tossed the master the sheath of his sword which he effortlessly caught on the sword itself. We waited for a hot minute for more reactions from the man- not having acted yet. The master stood taller. "I think I'm a little old to be fighting the Avatar."

We dropped our guards.

"How did you know?" Aang's eyes widened.

"Oh I've been around a while." He smiled. "Pick things up. Of course I knew from the beginning that Sokka was Water Tribe. Brenan's hair though was a dead give away of who's friends I was dealing with. You both might want to think of a batter Fire Nation cover name. Try Lee… there's a million Lees."

"But why would you agree to train someone from the Water Tribe?' Katara tilted her head. I nodded along. "Or my brother who never even tried to cover up with a story at all?"

"The way of the sword doesn't belong to any one nation or age. Knowledge of the arts belongs to us all." The man wiped off his face before picking the swords that were left to the sidelines. "Sokka, Brenan, you must continue your training on your own. If you stay on this path- I know that one day, you'll be become an even greater master than I am."

They bowed toward each other and we bid our farewells. As we were walking out of the castle the butler ran up to us. "Wait! The master wanted to give you something to remember him by." He then handed Sokka a single pouch before returning inside. Sokka opened his up. "It's a Pai Sho tile."

"The white Lotus." Aang said.

"What does that mean?" I tilted my head, trying to get a better look at the circular disk.

"I have no idea." Sokka admitted before pocketing the tile. "That reminds me! Toph- I thought you might like this since you've never had a chance to bend space earth before."

He then pulled out a small chunk of the meteorite and gave it to the blind girl. She grinned. "Sweet!"

Immediately she started bending clearer shapes like stars and spirals with the rock as if she was bending liquid. "Check this out guys!"

"Cool!~"

"You know-" Katara side smiled. "I don't think there's such thing as space earth. If it's from space the it's not really earth."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Must you ruin everything?"

"I still can't believe I missed you." She teased.

We started to walk away from the castle to return to Appa. "Don't say that." I smiled anyway. "You both know you need each other."

"Like you need me?" Brenan slugged his arm over my shoulder- his sword in his other hand.

"More like how you need me to keep you from getting yourself killed." I ruffled his hair out of affection. He whined pushed himself away to fix it. "I think I'm doing fine thank you very much."

"You're welcome."


	13. Tension Arises

The next days were spent staying hidden in the lowest corners of the Fire Nation island we were in, spending our short break relaxing and playing in the small pool we had managed to find. Honestly we should have known that it wouldn't last forever.

Night had fallen when we realized we had a new stalker.

"Guys!" Toph cried out, waking us up. "You're all going to think I'm crazy but it feels like a metal man is coming!"

Suddenly a single beam of light landed on Aang- seemingly targeting him as we all tried our hardest to focus through bleary eyes on the new commer. He did nothing but stare at us for a while before shooting...something at us that exploded nearby- sending us all over the place. Toph was the fastest to her feet and earthbended the man but he was blew it up before the attack even reached him. He sent another shock wave in our direction that Aang blocked with enough wind power. Katara ran straight forward and bended the water with near us toward the man. As expected now- he blew it up- covering the whole area is steam buying us enough time to hop over the rocks and cover ourselves.

"This guy is crazy!" Sokka cried out as we ducked from another incoming explosion. "How can we beat a guy who can blow things up with his mind?!"

"You can't!" Aang moved forward. "Hop on Appa- I'll try to distract him!"

The airbender then ran into the steam and hopped out of our little oasis and away from the rest of us. Immediately the man started shooting at Aang who kept leaping as far as he could to get away.

We did as Aang said and got all that we could onto Appa and flew towards the explosions. From above we could see the man tracking him down and see Aang launch himself into the sky, drop his rock body armour, just in time to be caught by us as we flew under.

Katara held onto the boy as he caught his breath. "Aang are you-"

"I'm ok." He panted.

"Well that we random." Toph muttered, moving away from the group to claim her own space.

I shook my head. "It didn't seem random."

"I agree." Katara let Aang go." I get the feeling he knows who we are."

"Do we have to keep running again?" Brenan yawned, resting his head against his right hand, pulling his knees to his chest with the other.

"It would probably be safer if we did." Sokka sighed from the front.

"Darn." I yawned as well.

"You two should probably go back to sleep." Katara gestured to our pink headedness. "We'll travel again in the morning."

Wordlessly, Brenan grabbed the blanket closest to him and threw it over the both of us and laid down. I blinked for a few seconds before laying down also next to the boy. "Goodnight."

Then my memory cuts out.

When I awoke it appeared that we were still flying through the sky. I sat up confused and dazed. "We're still flying?"

"No- we stopped a little while after you fell asleep." Aang spoke from his bended stance- keeping the cloud around us. "No one had the heart to wake you though so we kept quiet until you woke up."

"Why didn't you wake us up?" Brenan stretched from behind me.

Katara shrugged. "You're the youngest ones of the group- we weren't in immediate danger so we let you sleep."

"The actual Avatar is only two years older than us- we could take it." Brenan frowned, clearly trying his hardest to not whine but it slipped through his voice anyway.

"He's one hundred and two years Brenan." I stretched out as well. "Where are we going anyway?"

"Roku's old home." Aang answered. "He wants to tell me some stuff there."

"That's the last Avatar right?"

"Yup- hey, there it is!" Aang had Sokka steer Appa downwards. "That's Roku's home."

'_It just looks like a black island…'_

We hopped off of Appa once h landed and looked around. Brenan didn't seem very impressed wiht the scenery. "There's nothing here though."

"Yes there is." Toph said. "An entire village… hundreds of houses… all completely buried in ash…"

A very small voice whispered of asimilar tale but it was too unfocused….any attempt to gain clarity on the thought brought forth a headache.

"Well if this is where Aang needs to be…" Katara trailed off.

"When does Roku actually talk to you Aang?" I tilted my head.

"In my dreams most of the time….but also when I'm meditating."

"We're spending the night then?"

"Yup."

"We should stake out a spot then for Aang to cross over." Sokka looked around the barren island. "Where would the best spot be?"

Most of us shrugged and simply started walking around to look for a place to set up camp and keep an eye on Aang as he entered the Avatar State. As we waited, the sun set seemed to set in the sky much faster than anywhere else. And as Aang started to glow we were made all aware that Aang still moved and reacted with his body, even if he would have been in the spirit world for hours. We looked at the boy in slight concern and disgust after a very clear display of...uhhh….bowel movement. Most for the disgust was from Katara and I. "Do they have bathrooms on the spirit world?"

"As a matter of fact-" Sokka wiped his hand down his face. "They do not."

"Oy boy."

"What do we do?" Brenan sat down. "Leave him?"

"We might have too…"

"That can't be good for him."

"Do you want to touch him?"

"...no."

"Let's just go to bed..."

"Ok."

When morning broke- Aang told us about Roku's past- his friendship with Fire Lord Sozin and how his life ended. After he cleaned himself of course.

I frowned. "Are you serious?"

"You mean after all Roku and Sozin went through together- even after Roku showed him mercy- Sozin betrayed him like that?" Katara gaped.

Toph anything but growled. "It's like these people are born bad."

'_... can a person be like that?... No- that would mean Lord Garmadon was born bad and he wasn't-'_

"No- that's wrong." Aang countered. "I don't think that was the point of what Roku showed me at all."

"Then what was the point Aang?" Brenan sat down on the rock.

Aang smiled. "Roku was just as much Fire Nation as Fire Lord Sozin was right? If anything- their story proves that anyone's capable og great good and great evil. Everyone...even the Fire Lord and the Fire Nation, have to be treated like they're worth giving a chance. And I also think it was about friendships."

Toph seemed to struggle with that particular notion, I watched curiously as her face journeyed through her thoughts. "Do you...really think that friendships can last more than one lifetime?"

Aang grabbed her hand. "I don't see why not."

I grabbed her other hand. "I think if the Avatar is involved… it's possible."

Sokka spoke up. "Scientifically speaking-"

"Oh Sokka!" Katara groaned- holding Brenan's hand that held my other. "Just hold hands!"

In a moment's pause- he grabbed Katara's hand without anymore protest. I grinned. "No matter how old we are- we'll all still be friend, right?"

"Absolutely." Aang matched my smile. "If we all work together to take care of one another, our friendship will be talked for years to come!"

"Let's go home."

We then left the island, content in our hearts and our spirits high. We traveled until we reached a slightly larger island that while still had a population- we could still hide out easily. Now that the day of the invasion was closer than before (obviously) it was said that both Katara and Toph should focus more on training and teaching Aang than anything else we could be doing. Brenan and I took the time to explore the island while Aang trained with the girls. One day we came back to Katara and Toph fighting in the mud- Sokka on the ground and Aang not even close to breaking a sweat. "What the heck did we miss?" Brenan exclaimed. "We're gone for ten minutes and you all try to kill each other!"

I tilted my head, not at all trying to hide my amusement. "Weren't you supposed to be training?"

Aang shrugged before gesturing to the two girls behind him. "We're taking a break I guess."

In the background, both girls were throwing each other around and slinging mud at each other both literally and verbally.

"Uh guys-" Aang piped up. "- I thought we were supposed to be training me?"

They calmed down at that." Very well pupil." Katara tried to regain her dignity which to her credit was hard to do after wrestling in the mud like angry hippos. "I believe we've had enough training for today."

"While Katara cleans up-" Toph bended the mud away. "-let's go have some fun!"

"Yeah!" The boys cheered. I wanted to jump along at the first opportunity but I thought better of it. "You guys go on ahead- "I'll help Katara with the food so we can eat around the time you guys get back!"

"She's big enough to do it on her own Giggles! Come on!~" Toph grinned.

"We'll it's more like I want to plan a surprise." I bluffed. "I can't really do that if I'm with you now, can I?"

"You're lying."

"Am I?"

"She probably hasn't thought of it yet." Brenan silenced his chuckled. "We won't take long Brittany."

I nodded and saw the four of them off. "Stay safe- take care of each other!"

"We will!"

I smiled before returning to our camp and settled for watching the older girl wash the mud out of her hair. "What did you and Toph fight about this time?"

"Fighting?" She looked surprised. "No no- she just kept hitting me instead of helping Aang train but we weren't fighting."

I fixed her an unimpressed look. "I wish you would get along a little better… well it's better than the beginning anyway."

She sighed. "I'm sorry you have to see us like that."

"It could be worse." I shrugged. "Do you need help with anything?"

"Yeah- can you help me make lunch?"

I nodded and rushed to grab everything we needed. I started the fire while Katara finished cleaning herself up and together we started to make lunch. By the time it was nearly done our friends came back from their trip, laughing and each carrying a basket full of packages that I assumed to be food and other goodness. I gaped at it all. "I thought we only had one silver piece left."

"Yeah…" Katara raised an eyebrow. "Where did you guys get the money to buy this stuff?"

"Toph got us money." Brenan grinned, running over to me and giving me an apple. "Here it's for you."

I copied his smile and took the small gift. "Thanks! It's been so long ~ How did Toph get the money?"

"She scammed one of those guys in town that move the shells around all sneaky like." Brenan bit his apple. "Try it Brittany. They're really good- they're in season."

"She used earthbending to win the game." Sokka added, sitting down like the rest of us. "Classic!"

"Ah-" Katara frowned. "So she cheated?"

"Hey- I only cheated because he was cheating." Toph paused mid-bite to defend herself. "I cheated a cheater. What's wrong with that?"

"I'm just saying- this isn't something we should make a habit of." Katara frowned at the group excluding Brenan.

Toph smikred. "Why because it's fun? And you hate fun?"

"I don't hate fun!" Katara frowned and quickly put Momo on her head. "See? Fun!"

"Katara-" Aang stood up and lilfted his headband to reveal his arrow. "-I'll personally make you an Avatara promise that we will not make a habit of these schemes."

"Thank you Aang." She smiled.

I nodded in agreement. "While I'm glad we have more stuff, if you start making noise like that, we might get caught."

From my peripheral, Brenan widened his eyes. "You know what, I didn't think of that."

"At least we have more supplies now. Let's continue the low profile~" We all agreed.

Aang for one sucked at keeping promises.

"Guys I think the schemes have gone on long enough." The older girl stepped in their day four of crazy schemes to win more money. "If you keep doing them something bad is going to happen."

"Can you for once stop being such a sour puss and just lighten up?!" Toph groaned. Brenan moved towards the Water Tribe boy- away from the two other girls of the group. He stopped joining in at day three- no longer thinking that the "games" were fun. "She has a point though Toph- that last plan you guys did- the faked hit and bribing- we can get into big trouble."

"Ok fine- we went a little far on that one then." She relented. "But Miss Sugar Queen always has something to say. She can't let loose, I'm telling ya!"

"Oh I'm sorry. Do you want me to be more like you, like some wild child?!" Katara yelled- flinging a silver piece in Toph's directions.

"Yeah! Maybe! Maybe then you'll see how great we have it." Toph smirked and leaned on the rock behind her. "I mean look at us! We're traveling around the world- making easy money, having fun, with no parents to tell us what to do!"

"Ahhhh~" Katara raised an eyebrow and smirked as well. Brenan and I got the message to hide behind Aang and Sokka (although Aang was shorter than the both of us). "I see now- you're acting like this because of your parents."

"Whatever."

"They were controlling over you so you ran away and now you act like your parents don't exist. You act like you hate them but you don't. You just feel guilty."

"I do hate them." Toph looked away.

"I don't think so." Katara continued, although her voice softened considerable. "I think you miss them. But you just don't want to deal with that- so instead you act like this crazy person."

"Look-" The girl stood up. "-I ran away to help Aang!"

"You know what? It doesn't matter. These schemes put us all at risk and we don't need that." Katara changed the subject. "We've already got some third eyed freak after us."

"Speaking of that third eyed freak." Sokka piped up, cutting through the tension easily. "I think I've come up with a name for him. What do you think of Sparky Sparky Boom Man? Just think about it."

"We have enough money!" Katara was back to raising her voice, ignoring her brother completely. "You need to stop this!"

"I'll stop when I want to stop! Not when you tell me!" Toph stormed away from our group and nearly shoulder checked Katara. After walking away a few feet, she earthbended her tent around her- covering her on all sides to keep us all out. The five of us sat in silence for a few seconds- afraid to break the tense atmosphere.

I sighed. "At least she knows her parents loved her, even if they weren't good at showing it the way she wanted. I had adoptive parents after getting seperated from my actual family. They're dead now and I don't really remember them but I know they loved me...and I know that they wouldn't want to see me hurt or in trouble. I think that once Toph proves herself to her parents then they might actually get along and they wouldn't smoother her anymore. I think that's what she's trying to do."

Brenan nodded next to me but made no further comment. "If we're still on the topic of money, I'm going to go spend some." Sokka stood up, grabbed a small bag of coins and walked away toward the town. "See you guys later~"

"I'm coming too!" Brenan grinned and followed the older boy out of our small camp, leaving only Aang, Katara andI to our own devices. Aang then turned to me. "Your parents died?"

"Only the ones who adopted me- I didn't know them for long and they traveled a lot overseas. But the one time I didn't go with them- they never came back. That one reason why I'm looking for my parents- I don't know where they are and it's only by miracle that I found Brenan."

"So you really don't have parents then?"

"Nope. I haven't had parents for a long time actually. It was only recently that I left my hometown though." I shrugged. "It hasn't been so bad...I do miss them though."

"How about we had down to the pool? Clean off all this negative energy and water train?" Katara cut in, probably feeling awkward about the story and atmosphere. I smiled at her attempt to change the mood. "That sounds great actually."

"Race you there!" Aang jumped up and ran away. I blinked and jumped after him. "No fair! You're faster than everyone!"

"Hahahahaha!~"

When Brenan and Sokka came back about an hour later, the older of the two had a hawk and Brenan carried a small pouch of bread. I hopped out of the river and ran right for my doppelganger, waterbending the liquid off to dry faster. "Can I have some?"

"It's for everyone, but sure!" He grinned and tore off a piece for me.

Behind me, Katara sighed. "Sokka please tell me you didn't buy a bird."

"Not just a bird~" Sokka grinned. "A messenger bird! Now we can send messages all over the world- even to Gran Gran."

"Wow! How does it work?" Aang looked excited at the idea. Katara looked like she needed more convincing.

"I - uh, never actually thought of that." Sokka sheepishly smiled. "Hawky- Gran Gran- South Pole."

The bird shook his head.

"I think he gets it!"

Momo then darted forward and started to chase the bird and vice versa. Brenan and I laughed. "I don't think this is going to work."

"Well...whatever the case- I need to start cooking."

Katara rolled her eyes good naturedly. "You guys can figure out the bird."

Brenan looked away from the animal squabble both Aang and Sokka were trying (and failing) and break up. "Do you need help Katara?"

"I think I'm good but I'll ask for it when I need it." She smiled and walked away. About two hours passed before Toph returned from her unknown adventure. KAtaa frowned. "Oh- look who's back! Where have you been? Off scammin' again?"

"Yes, I was." Toph stuck up her nose and continued walking to the cash pile she had collected.

"And I suppose you don't think what you're doing is dangerous at all?" Katara walked over to the girl.

"No I don't." Toph rolled her eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes really."

"Well then- what's this?" The waterbender pulled out a piece of paper.

"I don't know! I mean seriously, what wrong with you people?! I'M BLIND!"

"It's a wanted poster of you." Their conversation now had my attention. "They're calling you The Runaway. Is that your new name?! Are you proud of this?!"

"Where did you get that?" Toph growled.

"It doesn't matter where I got it. The fact is-"

"You went through my stuff! You have no right!"

"Your stuff was messy and I was just straighten up and I just so happened to stumble across it."

"That's a lie! You're lying Katara!" Toph shoved an accusatory finger in the older girls face.

"Fine! It's a lie! But you've been so out of the control lately! I knew something was up- I know you were hiding something! And you were!"

Toph snagged the paper away from Katara and started to walk away. Katara certainly didn't appreciate it. Don't you dare walk away from me! We're not finished here!"

"Oh really mom! Or what you going to do? Send me to my room?!" Toph mocked.

"I wish I could!"

"Well you can't! Because you're not my mom and you're not their mom!" Toph gestured to the rest of us who were watching this exchange on bated breath.

"I never said I was!"

"No- but you certainly act like it! You think it's your job to boss everyone around but it's not! You're just a regular kid like the rest of us! So stop acting like you can tell me what to do! I can do whatever I want!"

"No you can't!" I stood up marching right up to the girl. "Doing what you want is all fine and dandy and whatever! But what you're doing is putting EVERYONE HERE IN DANGER! Then it's just being obnoxious." I seethed. "If it only affected you there wouldn't be a problem but you can't say that you wouldn't call us out if we were doing the same thing to you. How selfish can you be to put us all at risk just because you feel like it! So what if Katara's motherly- that's not a bad thing! It's because we're all ids that we'll fall apart without her! I knew you're blind but for once try to see where we would be. Who takes care of us when we're sick?! Who makes sure we eat everyday?! Who's the one trying to keep everyone comfortable?" I started crying. "I know you both don't get along and I know Katara has her faults but this isn't about that anymore, Notch dang it! I hate this! I hate when you both get like this! Just stop it!"

"Do I really act motherly?" Katara murmured turning to the boys on the sidelines, looking past me.

Brenan nodded. "Yup- but I personally don't mind it. I miss my mom sometimes so it's nice. It's not like it's a bad thing. I agree with Brittany… I just wasn't going to say anything."

"Sokka- am I really really like that?" She asked again.

"Hey I'm staying out of this one."

_'Smart move'_

"What do you think Aang- do I act like a mom?"

The poor boy started to rub his eyes and answer. "Well I-"

"Stop rubbing your eyes and speak clearly when you talk."

"Yes ma'am!"

"Look- I can't be around you right now!" Toph yelled and marched away.

Katara rolled her eyes. "Well I can't be around you either!"

Then she stormed away in the opposite direction- leaving me in the middle- trying to desperately calm myself down. Brenan sighed. "Why can't they just get along? You ok Brittany?"

"I'm going to go in the water- just get me whenever I guess." I moved my hair out of my face and made my way back down to the little pool I was in earlier.

"Ok...don't train yourself…"

Luckily for me no one seemed to come after me until sun down. I saw Katara pass me in what seemed to be another fit of rage before continuing on her mission to find a more secluded pool. I walked in the other direction.

Aang and Brenan nearly crashed into me on their air balls as I made my way in a vague direction of the camp. "What the heck?!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Brenan hopped down. "Didn't see you there."

"Well I can see that." I sighed.

"Sokka went to go talk to Toph…" Aang supplied, trailing off.

"Are you here to talk to me?"

"...why?"

"I just started yelling and crying...I feel...silly." I looked down and away from the two boys.

Aang tilted his head, putting a hand on his hip. "Do you feel like apologizing?"

"A little." I admitted. "But at the same time no… I don't feel like I did anything wrong but I don't like how it happened."

"You could always just apologize for that." Brenan shrugged. "If it helps- I don't think you did anything wrong either."

"If only Katara and Toph were like you two." Aang sat down. "You guys seem to agree on everything."

Our breath hitched.

Brenan breathed out a low chuckled while I tried to fight a natural smile on my face. "Great minds think alike anyway."

"Actually I wasn't going to apologize-" Katara's voice cut in from our sides. "I was going to say that I want to pull a scam with you!"

All three of us turned around to face the two girls in shock. Sokka was on the opposite sidelines with his jaw to the floor. "What?" Toph blinked and stayed at the older girl. "You want to pull a scam?!"

"Not just any scam- the ultimate scam! Whaddaya say Toph?" Katara pulled her closer as the boys fell to the ground in exasperation. "Just me and you. One last go. You in?"

I continued to stare in shock. "Are we just going to let this happen?"

"You know I am! What's this idea of yours?"

I sat on my knees and looked at the boys next to me. "Are we actually allowing this?"

The girls walked away.

"Oh my Notch we are."

"I will never understand girls!" Brenan shouted from the dirt. "Brittany- you're a girl- what just happened?"

"Katara joined Toph in the mess just after yelling at her to stop." I ran my hands through my hair. "I have no idea why."

"I thought we were going to eat." Aang banged his head (repeatedly) on the ground. "Why are they doing this?"

I patted his head and stood up. "In the name of friendship I guess."

Those two girls kept their little plan a secret from the rest of us until the next day when they left to put it into action. That just left me alone with the boys… I thought I was going to go insane. With Aang involved- it seemed Sokka and Brenan had their own personal mission to kill themselves.

After a few hours though we were starting to get worried. Aang was concerned enough to actually start pacing. "Do you think this scam of theirs should be taking this long?"

"I was just wondering the same thing." Sokka looked at the Avatar- holding his arm out for his hawk to perch. "We should go check it out. You guys behave- Appa's in charge."

Brenan stood up after them. "Wait- we're staying here? What if they were caught?"

"That's what we're going to see." Sokka nodded towards us. "If we're not back- you two can come after us- you're Plan B."

"We're going to break you four out with a flying lemur, sky bison and a hawk." I leaned back, diggin my hands into the dirt. "Is that it? No plan? Just back up? Is that all we are?"

"If it's all unfounded, we'll all be right back… but if we really don't come back then… yeah, please come help us." Aang rubbed the back of his neck in slight embarrassment before ushering Sokka away. "You're more than just back up but all of us together might draw more attention than we need, ok?"

"Fine." I fell backwards onto the ground. "We shall wait here then."

Brenan sighed before looking back to the boys. "How long should be wait?"

"Give us two hours." Sokka headed off once more. "Then come for us."

I saluted." Aye aye captain."

Time passed.

Brena offered the idea that if we really needed to skip town and rescue our friends then camp should at least be packed up so it'll be easier to leave. I agreed. Twenty minutes passed and faint popping sounds could be heard in the distance. Brenan started using his airbending to hurry up in packing away our stuff on Appa. I slowed down. "Do you think that's them?"

"Most likely- that's why we might need ot get a move on."

"But Sokka said to give them two hours- it hasn't even been one!" I bit my lip.

"I'm with you and I agree but we both know that trouble doesn't really care about that."

Sure enough, as Brenan and I loaded the last of the supplies and erased any trace that we were there, the rest of our group came tumbling out of the shadows- gunning right for us. "Up! Up! Combustion Man is back!"

Brenan blinked. "Combustion Man?"

"The guy that jumped to take his place on Appa's head as Brenan and I helped the others to get up. Once we were all settled in properly enough- Appa took off.

We flew around a few times to throw them (as in any one who might have seen a giant sky bison take flight) off of our tail and found ourselves a different Fire Nation island to properly land on, long after the sun had set.

Sokka yawned. "I'm exhausted! Hawky- how 'bout you buddy? Yeah, you're such a lazy little bird."

"Are we gonna know what happened?" Brenan followed after the older boy, pulling me long with him. Behind me I could hear Toph talk once more with Katara and they (at least to me) seemed on much better terms than before the scrap.

Aang hopped off of Appa and found a spot next to us on the ground as we tried to settle in for the night. Sleep came easy enough as Sokka's mild complaints as to where his hawk went filled an otherwise soundless cavern- lulling me to sleep.

Feeling protected by my friends and safe, at least for now, my eyes closed.


	14. Unwanted Talents

We stayed a few days in the cavern trying to get the lay of the land until further notice. On the second night the group decided to tell ghost stories- each with varying levels of creepiness. Katara's was the worst one, something her mom experienced- I can't recall the exact details fo the story but the fear I felt was unmeasurable. It was a short story but Toph added to the fear by gasping suddenly when it ended. "Did you guys hear that?"

The rest of us huddled together instantly, shaking like autumn leaves on a windy day. She seemed more concerned than frightened though. "I hear voices under the mountain! And they're screaming!"

Sokka was the first to calm down. "Nice try Toph."

"No- I'm serious, I hear something."

"You're probably just jumpy from the ghost stories." Katara tried to reason.

"Can we stop now?" I pleaded- already dreading the nightmare to come. Horror was never a strong suit of mine. She stayed standing- silent. Waiting, even. And then… "It just stopped."

"Toph stop- this isn't funny." I whined- trying my best to stop my shaking. Aang held on tightly to me as we squished Katara's right side. "Ok- now I'm getting scared."

More silence.

We waited for Toph to say something again but she stood frozen- vigilant- searching for any more signs of life. No one took any deep breaths- no one dared break the spell- we all simply waited for the moment to pass.

"Hello children."

"AHHHHHHH!"

We all screamed.

Instantly we all ran to Toph on the other side of the fire and watched as a new fighter entered the arena.

Said fighter happened to be an old woman. Long white hair- natural frown lines but a strange his between her teeth as she talked. "Sorry to frighten you."

She smiled- looking a little more normal for a grandma. "My name is Hama- you children shouldn't be out in the forest at night. I have an inn nearby. Why don't you come back there for some spiced tea and some warm beds?"

"... yes please."eShe hummed, pleased at the prospect and lead us away from our campfire and back to her place. Once we were there- she was quick to get the ups out and prepare a hot cup of leave juice for us. Katara, ever present with politeness spoke up as a representative of the group. "Thanks for letting us stay here tonight. You have a lovely inn."

"Oh aren't you sweet." Grandma chuckled. "You know, you should be careful. People have been disappearing in those woods you kids were camping in."

Brenan snapped at attention from his cup to the woman. "Can you… explain… what you mean by that?"

She nodded. "When the moon turns full, people walk in and they don't come out… Who wants more tea?"

To her credit she tried to play it off but we were far more concerned with the words that just left her mouth than the cup of tea in from of us. "Don't worry, you'll all be completely safe here. Why don't I show you to your rooms and you can get a nice long rest."

She was kind enough to give each of us a room in the inn but sleep did not come easy for me at least. I woke up repeatedly and everytime I closed my eyes visions of blue girls and disembodied screams waged war. Slowly I snuck my way out of the room and found the one Brenan was given. I tried to stealth my way in but the floorboards were old and gave me away pretty quickly. "GAh! Who's there?!"

"Shhh! It's me!" I whispered back- watching as Brenan's eyes focused and eventually landed on my person, standing by the door. He rubbed his eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"I-" Sounds rocoshed off of the hallways- making me jump. "Can I sleep with you? I don't want to be alone."

He nodded and shuffled his way to one side of the bed. "Just don't kick me off, ok?"

I practically sprinted to the bed and jumped under the covers- relishing in the leftover warmth. "Thank you."

"Mm-hm."

Sleep was a bit better after that.

"Oh- look at you both! I was wondering where you went."

I groaned.

Light poured into the room from the windows as the lady from the night before. "Wakey wakey- time to go shopping."

Brenan started to stir. "What? Where-"

"Good morning you two!" Katara poked her head in. "I thought it would be nice of us to help Hama out with her shopping as a thank you for her offer."

I rubbed my eyes and nodded, yawning/willing myself awake. "Ok- just give me a minute- we'll be ready soon."

"Those two- inseparable aren't they?" The old lady spoke to Katara on her way out.

"Apparently they were seperated for a long time it was only recently they found each other again." Our friend responded.

Accordingly the two of us got ready for the day, ate our breakfast and headed into town to help the old lady with her shopping- carrying what she couldn't. Katara walked by the woman's side as we trailed behind them- catching bit of the conversations of those around us in the marketplace. "Oh- right- tomorrow's the full moon."

"Yeah- can't lose another delivery boy in the woods."

Sokka wasn't completely into it though. "People disappearing, full moon stuff, this just reeks of the Spirit World shenanigans."

Aang liked those odds honestly. "I bet if we asked around, we can ask these people what they did to their environment to make the spirits mad."

Brenan grinned. "And then you can show up and fix it in a flash- Avatar Style."

"Helping people, that's what I do." He smirked.

As we stopped at a open intersection, mystery lady said. "How about you nice kids take those things back up to the inn? I have a few more errands to run- I'll be back in a little while."

"This is a mysterious little town you got here." Sokka noted, trying to looked solely curious.

"A mysterious town for mysterious children."

Then she walked away.

Admittedly it threw us all for a loop but we trekked out way back up to the inn like she asked and started to file away the groceries. Sokka seemed more put off than the rest of us though. "That Hama seems a little strange. Like she knows something- or she's hiding something."

"That's ridiculous." Katara rolled her eyes. "She's a kind woman who took us in and gave us a place to stay. She kind of reminds me of Gran Gran."

"But what did she mean by that comment 'mysterious children'?"

"Gee- I don't know. Maybe because she found six strange kids camping in the woods at night?"

"She has a point." I piped up. "Brenan and I also weren't hiding our hair at the time and this place is tiny, so she might know everyone in the village."

"Yup- but poof- here are six new children in Fire Nation clothes that you have never seen before in the woods where people go missing." Brenan added on. "Seems mysterious to me."

The Water Tribe boy was not persuaded. "I'm going to take a look around."

Without think too much into it, he started walking up to the stairs to his right.

"Sokka!" Katara stage whispered. "Sokka what are you doing?!" The poor girl was so scandalized. "You can't just snoop around someone's house!"

"It'll be fine."

"She could be home any minute." Aang blinked.

We followed the trio upward.

Sokka was just opening doors and cabinets, anything he could get his hands on. "You're just going to get us all in trouble! This is just plain rude." Katara (although angry) made no move to actively stop her brother.

"I'm not finished yet." He grasped the handles on what seemed to be a locked cabinet and forcefully opened it.

Dolls...puppets to be precise, nearly fell on top of the boy but were held by strings on their heads. Katara made the move to put them all back properly and close the cabinet. Aang grimaced. "Ok- that's pretty creepy."

"So she has a hobby- there's nothing weird about that."

Sokka continued forward.

"Sokka you've searched enough! Hama will be back soon."

He made his way up into an attic of sorts and said. "Oh just an ordinary puppet loving innkeeper, huh? Then why does she have a locked door up here?"

Katara and Aang went up the stairs first- Brenan and I took the trial end- hesitantly climbing up with the rest of them. "Probably to keep people like you from snooping through her stuff!"

"We'll see…" He looked through a small hole. "... it's empty except for a little chest."

Toph gasped. "Maybe it's treasure."

My twin and I laughed a bit- shaking some tension off of our shoulders as Sokka took out his sword and fiddled with the lock. Katara stared wide eyes. What are you doing?! You're breaking into a private room!"

"Sokka I think it's time to stop- I don't have a good feeling about this." I put a hand on Brenan's arm- whether for his sake or mine, I wasn't sure.

"I have to see what's in there." He successfully got the door open and we followed inside. Aang looked around a little pensive. "We shouldn't be doing this."

Sokka grabbed the box and tried to open it but it wouldn't budge. "Maybe there's a key somewhere."

Brenan nudged me aside. "Do you think he can even hear us anymore?"

I shrugged.

"I got it- let me see it!" Toph was handed the box as she molded her space bracelet into a key to pick the lock.

"I really don't know about this guys." Aang looked between the two who seemed unfazed. I took a deep breath and got closer. "If it helps you feel better, I don't either."

"This is crazy- I'm leaving." Katara frowned.

Sokka stood up in her face. "Suit yourself- do it Toph!"

It clicked.

We all reached out to open it.

"I'll tell you what's in the box."

"Oh dear Notch!"

Hmama was in the doorway. She stepped forward and took the box from Sokka. Slowly opening it and pulled out what looked like … a comb? Sokka nearly lost his mind. "An old comb?!"

"It's my greatest treasure." She said, smiling knowingly. "It's the last thing I owned from growing up in the Southern Water Tribe."

A resounding gasp filled the room- most of us turning to the ones who the news would affect the most. Katara gulped. "You're from the Southern Water Tribe?"

Hama smirked. "Just like you."

"How did you know?"

"I heard you talking around your campfire." She put the comb away and closed the box.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Sokka raised an eyebrow.

"I wanted to surprise you- I bought all this food today to fix you up a big Water Tribe dinner. Of course I can't get all the ingredients I need here. But ocean cumcuats are a lot like sea prunes if you stew them long enough."

"Great." Aang made a face. I blinked away from him. '_Maybe they taste bad?'_ I looked over at Brenan for his reaction since he might have actually tried it but if he did, he was better at hiding it.

Katara looked overjoyed. "I knew I felt a bond with you right away."

"AndI knew you were keeping a secret so I guess we're both right." Katara punched her brother in response "But… I'm sorry we were sneaking around."

"Apology accepted. Now let's get cooking."

Aang went to go feed Appa and Momo while Hama and Katara got busy in the kitchen. I stayed nearby to watch but when they asked if I wanted to help, I told them that I didn't know how and was content just watching them anyway. It took a few hours but dinner was eventually served and we were all seated (somewhat snugly) at the table. "I'd steer clear of the sea prunes." Aang whispered to Toph. I sat on her other side within hearing range.

"I thought they were ocean cumcuats."

"Close enough."

"Who wanted Five FLavour Soup?" Hama smiled. We all raised our hands and to our great surprise she bended the soup out of her bowl and into all of ours. "You're a waterbender too?!" I stood up, looking over at her excitedly. Katara looked just as happy. "I've never met another waterbender from our tribe!"

"That's because the Fire Nation wiped them all out." She sighed, looking directly at the table. "I was the last one."

Sokka blinked and leaned toward her. "So how did you end up out here?"

"I was stolen from my home." She looked up at us. "It was over sixty years ago when the raids started. They came again and again- each time wounding up more of our waterbenders and taking them captive. We did our best to hold them off but our numbers dwindled as the raids continued. Finally- I too was captured. I was lead away in chains. The last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe."

Katara got out of her seat to hug the old woman as her story continued. "They put us in terrible prisons here in the Fire Nation… I was the only one who managed to escape."

"How did you get away?" I asked.

"Yeah-" Sokka glanced in my direction but directed his attention back towards Hama. "-and why did you stay in the Fire Nation?"

"I'm sorry… it's too painful to talk about anymore." Her voice shook. Katara held her a little tighter. "We completely understand. We lost out mother in a raid."

"Oh you poor things." Hama placed her hand over Katara's. We all simply looked at our hands- not saying anything that would seem disrespectful in this moment of silence. Katara smiled though after the pause. "I can't tell you what it means to meet you. It's an honor- you're a hero."

"I've never thought I'd meet another southern waterbender. I'd like to teach you what I know so you can carry on the southern tradition when I'm gone."

Our friend beamed. "Yes! Yes, of course! To learn about my heritage… would mean everything to me."

Hama smiled.

"Do you think our friend Brittany could learn as well?" Sokka pointed at me. "She's not from our tribe but she's also a waterbender and Katara's been training with her while we travel."

I blinked at the older boy wondering what his motive was. Maybe there was no motive but it seemed really important to Katara and while I was interested I didn't want to intervene. The older woman looked at me expectantly and I tried my hardest to not make eye-contact. "Sure- I suppose teaching more than one bender a tradition will only help keep it alive for longer. What do you say?"

I smiled at her. "That sounds really nice- thank you. Brenan is learning-" I got hit from under the table. "-a lot about cultures here and I want to do the same."

"If I may ask… where are you two from? I've never seen that kind of hair on anybody." Hama said.

Brenan laughed nervously for a bit. "We're from Minecraftia, it's very far away from the Fire Nation."

"It's very far away from a lot of places we've been." Topg mumbled. I tapped her leg with my foot.

"Well alright- we'll start first thing in the morning." Hama smiled and gestured to the food in from of us. "Dig in!"

So we did.

When the morning broke out, Hama took Katara and I aways from the town into a beautiful field of red flower. As we walked into the meadow, I plucked a few flowers and stuffed them in my inventory for safe keeping. Hama started to talk once we were getting close to the destination. "Growing up at the South Pole, waterbenders are totally at home surrounded by snow and ice and seas. But as you've probably noticed in our travels, that isn't the case wherever you go."

"I know." Katara nodded. "When we were stranded in the desert. I felt like there was almost nothing I could do."

"That's why you have to learn to control water wherever it exists." Hamaa smiled to the both of us.

"I've even used my own sweat for waterbending."

I scrunched up my nose. "So that's how you got away from Combustion Man…"

"That's very resourceful Katara." Hama continued walking us through the meadow. "You're thinking like a true master. But did you know you could even pull water from thin air?" She then proceeded to perform a simple movement around herself and water collected around her finger tips. Freezing them around her fingers, she struck the nearest tree with much more force any grandma should have. "You have to keep an open mind girls- there's water in places you never think about."

I grinned. "That was awesome!"

"Come- let's find a more open area."

Katara had a wistful smile on her face. "These 're beautiful."

"They are really pretty…" I played with their petals.

Hama distanced herself from us a bit and said. "These flowers are called Fire Lilies. They only blooma few weeks a year but they're one of my favorite things about living here. But like all plants and all living things, they're filled with water."

"We met a waterbender who lived in a swamp and controlled the vines by bending the water inside." Katara said.

"Hugh was cool- I liked him. Even if he tried to make us leave."

Hama turned to us with a smug smirk and said, almost in a whisper. "You can take it even further."

She suddenly bended a circle around herself, taking the water out of the flowers and slicing the nearest rock into pieces. Katara gaped. "That was incredible!"

I looked down… the flowers and grass were black- like they had been burned. "But the lilies…"

"They're just flower dear. When you're a waterbender in a strange land- you do what you must to survive. Tonight I'll teach you both the ultimate technique of waterbending. It can only be done during the full moon- when your bending is at its peak."

"But isn't it dangerous?" Katara blinked at her. "I thought people were disappearing during the full moon."

"Oh Katara, three master waterbenders under a full moon?" Hama's smirk widened. "I don't think we have anything to worry about."

She then lead us toward the forest and had us practice on the plants around us until nightfall. Naturally Katara had a better affinity for it but I could bend the leaves around me to make it look like I was airbending. '_Brenan's going to love this.'_ Taking the water out of the plants was accidentally easier than simply moving the plants around. Katara was the other way around- the opposite of where I stood. At least we both struggled to gather a decent amount of water straight from the air like Hama did earlier.

Once the full moon had risen, Hama had taken us to the edge of the treeline right before a clearing so the trees still provided ample cover while being in direct contact with the moon light.

"Can you feel the power the full moon brings?" Hama took a deep breath in- battling in the soft light. "For generations it has blessed waterbenders with its glow, allowing us to do incredible things…" Her veins bulge in her arms- moving all the way down to her hands "... I've never felt more alive."

A cat owl coo'ed in the distance.

"What I'm about to show you- I discovered in that reached Fire Nation prison. The guards were always careful to keep any sort of water away from us. They piped in dry air and had us suspended away from the ground. Before giving us any water, they would bind our hands and feet so we couldn't bend. Any sign of trouble was met with cruel retribution. And yet each month I felt the full moon enriching me with its energy. There had to be something I could do to escape. Then I realised… that where there is life, there is water. The rats that scurried across the floor of my cage where nothing more than skins filled with liquid. And I passed years developing my skill that would lead to my escape. Blood bending… Controlling the water in another body- enforcing your own will over theirs. Once I had mastered the rats- I was ready for the men… And during the next full moon, I walked free for the first time in decades… My cell unlocked by the very guards assigned to keep me in. Once you perfect this technique, you can control anything."

I stared at her wide eyed and opened up the chat box. '_Help me- Hama is actually crazy! Hurry!'_

My reply was almost instantaneous. **'We're on our way! Hama was taking people- please stay safe!'**

"To reach inside someone and control them?" Katara's soft voice carried through the wind. "I don't know if I want that kind of power."

"The choice is not yours." Hama sneered- no longer the nice lady she was earlier that day. "The power exists! And it's your duty to use the gifts you've been given to win this war! Katara - they tried to wipe us out! Our entire culture! Your mother!"

"I know!"

I grabbed her hand, and whispered. "Katara, she's scaring me- what do we do?"

She also grabbed my hand and held tight but didn't reply to me.

"Then you should understand what I'm talking about! We're the last waterbenders of the Southern Water Tribe! We have to fight these people wherever we can! Wherever they are with any means necessary!"

"But-" I looked at her somewhat pleadingly. "-some are just people… like you were… who did nothing wrong."

"Any nation that sides with the mass eradication of culture is just as bad as those who commit the crimes! You wouldn't understand!"

"But what if they don't know what happened? It was so very far away from here… what if you just tell them-"

"Enough! Katara, think of your mother- your sisters- your brother! Would you have them die at the hands of another Fire Nation Soldier?!"

"It's you…" My friend suddenly returned to the present. "You're the one making people disappear during the full moon!"

"They threw me in prison to rot along with my brothers and sisters." Hama spat. "They deserve the same! You both must carry on my work!"

"I won't!" Katara stood along. "I won't use bloodbending and I won't allow you to keep terrorising this town!"

"Katara! She controls people!" I grabbed her arms and tried to drag my friend away. '_We can't fight her if she's got a hold on us! What are you thinking?!'_

The girl suddenly bent at an awkward angle and was forced away from me. "You should have learned the technique before you turned against me!" Hama had her move her arm around all the way it could possible move without breaking it before stopping Katara, standing her straight and just keeping her there. "It's impossible to fight your way out of my grip! I control every muscle- every vain in your body!"

She then started to drag her around the ground- bending her arms in all the directions they could go- making her dance.

Fear clutched at me heart, freezing me to my spot. "Stop it! Stop this! This isn't okay!"

Hama forced Katara to the ground and turned to me. "Now you there- you try."

"Stop- please." Katara started to cry. I blinked between the two of them- trying to fight the build up that would only lead to my own tears. "I don't want to do that to Katara- she doesn't deserve that."

"Well…. you'll be the next example."

Suddenly my legs seemed to move on their own accord. It felt like swarms of beetles were crawling through my limbs- moving them against my will. My arms moved next as she danced my around like the puppet I became. "Let me go!" I cried. "Please!"

Hama laughed evilly and moved her other hand to control Katara once more but instead she stood up- the grass under her hands blackening from the sudden dehydration. "You're not the only one who draws power from the moon." She said. "My bending is more powerful than your Hama- your technique is useless on me!"

She then bent the water from the grass towards the old woman who dropped her hold on me in favor of returning the water to the girl. They parried back and forth with that- Hama sending two more water balls Katara's way from the trees behind her. The three streams moved t make one heading straight for the older girl. But she blocked it.

It blew away from her, creating a beautiful half like sphere back in Hama's direction- shocking her in its wake.

With that second of shock, I kicked up blocks of the dirt and sent them Hama's way. Katara then moved the water in two and twisted them around to knock Hama off of her feet. Not only did she fall to the ground but when the dirt blasted her, she flew backwards with every successive strike.

"Impossible." Hama glared at me.

From behind her- two figures ran towards the three of us.

"We know what you've been doing Hama!"

It was Sokka!

"Give up! You're outnumbered!"

Aang!

...Oh…. no….

"No! You've outnumbered yourselves!" She grinned sinisterly. Grabbing the two of them, she threw them at us. Sokka towards his sister and Aang toward me.

Katara dodged her brother beautifully- little to no effort butI simply side stepped out of the way and blasted more earth towards the witch of a woman. She blocked it with more tree water and kept her shield up until Katara destroyed it with her own water blast.

"Katara watch out!" Sokka shouted from older boy then took out his sword and stared wildly swinging it toward his sister. "It's like my brain has a mind of its own. Stop it arms! Stop it!"

"This feels weird!" Aang shouted from another angle. They came toward us- keeping us back to back. Katara pushed her brother off and froze his arm to a tree while I water bended Aang to the ground. "Sorry guys!"

"It's fine!"

"What is this?" Hama suddenly screeched from her position.

I looked over and saw her getting knocked around from the ground up again but couldn't see who was doing it. I turned to Aang. "Where's Toph and Brenan?"

"Toph was helping the people captured to escape… Brenan… was… with us?" He offered but it became clear he was clueless. '_Well it seems he's here… finally using that potion I gave him.'_

After knocking Hama around some more Katara got her opportunity to strike the old woman down. But unfortunately Brenan's potion ran out and he became visible again. "Don't hurt your friends!" Hama taunted, blasting ice in my direction, freezing my feet to the ground before (quite literally) throwing Brenan in my direction. Sokka and Aang suddenly went flying as well. "And let them hurt each other!"

"NOOOOO!"

The fighting stopped.

Sokka and Aang were controlled no more, Brenan never crashing into me. I opened my eyes and looked at what had happened. Katara held Hama down- forcing her to the ground but I… caught Brenan.

I froze- staring at him and him at me. Fear in both of our eyes. "Brit...Brittany?"

I dropped him instantly.

He fell a few inches to the ground but sat himself up onto his knees.

I slowly- untrusting now- melted the ice at my feet and dropped the water into the grass. "I'm… I'm sorry, I didn't mean… I didn't want..."

Toph ran to the scene with a group of people that looked to be like Hama's prisoners. As Hama was held down by Katara and eventually the men- they chained her up once more. "You're going to be locked away forever."

"My work is done." She said. "Congratulations girls."

The boys stepped closer to the both of us- a ready to be shield in case she tried anything else.

"You're bloodbenders now."

We cried.


	15. The Day of Black Sun

The next few days were spent simply trying to reach the rendezvous point for the Fire Nation invasion party. When we got there it was a quaint little island naturally populated by koala sheep with steep cliffs and a rocky-ish shoreline.

"How did you pick this place?"

"Before we split up, my dad and I found this island on a map. It's uninhabited and its secluded cliffs made it seem like the perfect place."

"It doesn't look so bad." Brenan plopped down his sleeping bag.

"And we're four days ahead." I sat down on the ground. "I think we did pretty good."

"Wait! FOUR DAYS?!" Aang sprung high in the air, coming back down with radiant nervous energy. "THE INVASION IS IN FOUR DAYS?!"

Sokka yawned- not picking up on Aang's sudden distress. "Whatever… that's like four days from now. Let's just calm down and-"

He fell right asleep- not bothering to stay awake long enough to finish his sentence.

"Sokka's got the right idea Aang." Katara looked over to the Avatar. "We're here- we're ready- the best thing we can do now is to get plenty on rest."

He took his own moment to breath a little before a glanced at all of us already on the ground, calming ourselves down to sleep for the night. "Ok... I guess."

He then got onto the ground himself and closed his eyes. I looked at him for a little more time- watching him in case he sprung up again but he didn't. The soft sounds coming from the koala sheep lulled me to sleep.

You know what woke me up? Aang continuously punching a tree. I rubbed my eyes. "Come on- what did the tree do to you Aang?"

No response.

Automatically we all turned our gaze to Katara who (knowing the drill) stood up and went to greet the boy, and maybe bring him out of his funk. "Hey-" She said. "-how long have you been up?"

"A couple hours." He barked. "I have a lot more skills to refine if I'm going to fight Ozai."

"You know, there is such a thing as over training."

"Brittany, what do you want to eat?" Brenan poked my shoulder as he looked through our food bag.

"Do we still have good fruit?" I turned my attention to him.

"You don't get it do you?!" Aang snapped. "My form is bad, my moves are sloppy and I still don't know any fire bending. Not even the basic!"

"That's ok Aang." Sokka spoke up from his spot on the ground.

"There's some mango." Brenan held one out for me to eat. I nodded and bit into it happily.

"The eclipse would block off fire bending anyway." Sokka continued. "You don't need to know it. Plus it's stupid element."

Brenan visibly bit his cheek in response.

"Ok… well I still have to work on everything else!" Aang continued flailing his arms around. "I better spend the whole day training." The boy quickly bowed to all of us and then airbended away (and far away) from the group.

That turned out to be day one of the nightmares.

"SOKKA WAKE UP! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT IT IS!"

"What? Who's talking?... OW!"

I sleepily looked up from my sleeping spot and spotted Aang over Sokka who had his sword out. I sighed and simply turned to other way. "I refuse to deal with this right now."

"Relax it's still two days before the invasion." Toph sat up, as did everyone else.

"Sokka you have to get up and do your rock climbing exercises!" Aang fretted around the older boy.

"What?"

"In my dream you were running from Fire Nation soldiers, trying to climb the cliffs! But you were too slow and they got you!"

"Why are you yelling?" Brenan groaned. "We're all right here."

"That was just a dream." Sokka rolled his eyes- standing up to challenge Aang in his accusation. "I'm a great climber."

"THEN CLIMB THAT CLIFF! CLIMB IT FAST!"

Sokka then begrudgingly started for the cliff Aang pointed to as we passed around the morning water skin. Toph had it before I did usually so while I waited for my turn- I watched Sokka climb. He was actually doing a pretty good job.

Aang turned to us and blanched. "DON'T DRINK THAT!"

Sokka fell.

Toph instantly spat the water all over me. "Why? Is it poison?!"

I water bended it off and threw it to the grass. "That was uncalled for Toph."

"In my dream we were right in the middle of the invasion." Aang started again. "And you had to stop to use the bathroom. We died because of your tiny bladder. And you need to start wearing your hair up." He turned to Katara now. "In my dream you got stuck in a train and-"

"Aang." Katara covered his mouth with her hand. "I know you're just trying to help but you really need to get a grip. You're unraveling."

He took a deep breath. "You're right- I'm losing my mind."

I watched Sokka fall from the cliff for the third time. "Maybe talking about it would help?"

"Ok… where do I start?"

Brenan shrugged. "You stressed?"

"Absolutely! It's like everytime I think about how stressed I am, I just get more stressed." Aang now started pacing as we all sat down a little ways away. "I'm like a growing ball of nerves."

"Of course you are." Sokka gav e a gave me his hands to heal from climbing that dang rock. "You're going up against the Fire Lord- the biggest, baddest guy on the planet and you better win or we're all done for."

"Dude!" Brenan whacked the older boy upside the head. "You're not helping!"

"Well it's true. That's the deal- he knows it."

I pushed him away from me. "Aang needs a clear head to do it- don't tease him like that!"

"I've got an idea- prepare to be destressified." Katara grinned and ushered Aang to follow her.

Sokka then started to work on Appa's armour and was half way done with it when Katara and Aang came back- not looking any better. "He may need to talk it out for real."

"I got it." Sokka dropped his work and took Aang in the opposite direction that Katara did.

They came back with a similar outcome from before.

Toph rolled her eyes. "Ok- are we all trying something?"

Aang shrugged.

"I've got just the thing Twinkle Toes- follow me."

Off they went.

"Maybe he just needs actual sleep but can't because of his nightmares." I put my head in my hands, looking at the other three. "Adam used to tell me that dreams are usually about things that happened in your day or about the last things you think about. So if we keep him distracted maybe that would work."

"We'll try that later today then- we'll all talk about anything but the invasion." Katara smiled at me. "We don't have much to lose in trying all that we can think of- something has to work!"

Aang suddenly came running back.

"No go?" Brenan looked at the cowering boy- covered from head to toe in red splotches. Aang shook his head. "Back pounding hurts."

"I have something that might work." Brenan stood up and gestured Aang to follow. "It's not gonna hurt like Toph's idea...promise."

"Ok…"

"Poor Aang." I sighed. "This might work though."

Everyone else took turns to try and keep the airbender busy throughout the day or at least distracted from the day. When nightfall finally came around, we let Aang be none the wiser and got ready for bed. Aang didn't seem to be in a batter mood though. "Thanks for everything guys."

"So- do you feel less stressed?" Katara smiled at him. "Ready for a good night's sleep?"

"Ah.. I kind of, maybe, sort of, might slightly feel a little better...maybe."

"Then our work here is done." Sokka stretched his arms out and laid back on the ground. I moved my sleeping bag ever so slightly closer to Aang and got on top of it. Everyone else followed suit soon after, leaving us all to just our thoughts for the night.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes… when you're fast asleep..." I sang quietly, barely whispering but enough that I knew Aang could hear me. "In dreams you will lose your heartache… whatever you wish for you keep."

I closed my eyes and made myself ever so quiet, following asleep myself in the process. "No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing… your dreams that you wished for will come...true."

Aang then woke up all up screaming bloody murder. I looked at him from where I was- he had somehow moved farther away in his sleep and frowned. '_When did I fall asleep?'_

"What is it Aang?" Katara ran to him, closely followed by the rest of us.

The sky looked to be turning lighter- a small string of light seen on the horizon. '_At least he slept for a little longer.'_

"It's the nightmares. They just get worse and worse…" Aang ran his hands through his hair- borderline tearing it out.

"Looks like it's time for another therapy session." Sokka pulled out his fake facial hair.

"NO! That won't help! Nothing helps! There's only one thing I can do- I'm going to stay awake straight through the invasion!" He declared- instantly shivering at the idea.

"You'll only hurt yourself though… Aang- is this-" I cut Brenan off. "Let him- he'll shut down eventually and feel a lot better."

"We should all try to get some sleep." Sokka put his hands on Brenan's and my shoulders- pushing us away. "Back to bed- back to bed!"

"If you say so..."

When morning broke out- Aang had lost his mind. He continuously tried to fight a tree stump that he had placed his Ozai noodle art onto. The boy kept missing though- hitting every other place but the tree stump. "That's a lot better- I'm so tired that I thought you talking to me."

I looked at him from around the tree. Momo chattered his response to which Aang actually replied. "Oh Momo, let me explain. Brun buu buu- Brium bbu bbu."

'_Oh my Notch- he needs sleep. The invasion is tomorrow!' _I snuck a quick glance at my teammates to see if anyone had any plan of action but they looked just as confused and clueless. Aang was none the wiser. "Aang…" Brenan cut the boy's conversation off. "... we're all starting to worry about you for real this time."

"You've been awake for too long." Sokka said.

Toph tilted her head. "And you're acting downright weird!"

"You've got to take care of yourself Aang- you can't go on like this." Katara once again stepped toward the boy.

"Look I appreciate what you guys are saying-" Aang stepped away from her. "-but with the stress and the nightmares- they were just too much. Staying awake is the best way for me to deal with it."

Momo then chattered something and Appa growled in response.

"Guys- no- come on! Sokka what do we do?"

"About what?"

"About that!" Aang looked panicked. We watched as he slowly panicked about his surroundings- watching the ground. The rest of us slowly backed away. The Avatar screamed. "I just need ot jump in a cold waterfall!"

Then he ran off.

I bit my lip and looked at the older kids. "Should we go after him?"

"I will. You guys continue to prepare for the invasion." Brenan took a few steps in the direction Aang had gone. "I'll make sure he doesn't get himself killed- I'll be back!"

"Ok…"

"I know let's make him a bed!" Katara cried out. "Brittany, help me get the covering from the koala sheep, Toph can make the base."

"Sounds good to me." The earthbender said. I nodded in my agreement and we got to work. By the time we had finished, it was dark and the night fog rolled in. Sooner than later, Aang walked through with Brenan close behind him and examined our work. "Oh look- another hallucination! An imaginary bed made out of clouds!"

"Hey- it's real!" Toph cried out. "We spent hours working on it."

"We made it for you- a good night's sleep to take the crazy away." I grinned.

"Look- you guys keep telling me I need to sleep but I can't!" Aang jumped off the bed and snarled at us. "The invasion's tomorrow!"

"Aang-"

"No Katara!" He snapped. "There's still so much I haven't learned! I don't need sleep! What I need is practice! Quick! Hit me!"

He wobbled.

"I'm not going to hit you." She sighed.

Toph raised an eyebrow. "You want to do it?"

Soka tapped her arm in a gentle reprimand.

"Listen to me Aang-" The older girl started. "-you've been training for this since the day we've met. I've seen your progress. You're smart, brave and strong enough."

"You really think so?"

Brenan grinned. "We all do. You can do do this. You're ready!"

"You're the man Twinkle Toes."

"I believe in you Aang."

"And we're behind you every step of the way."

He smiled and yawned. "Thanks guys."

With very gentle guiding, the boy was lead onto the bed and laid down onto it. "You know what?" He said. "I think I am ready."

Then he fell asleep.

Quickly we all followed suit and anticipated the day to come. The following morning when we waited for our troops to arrive- we all changed back into our normal clothes and looked over the Fire NAtion maps. Aang was expectantly the last of us to wake up. "Top of morning Momo!"

"Someone slept well." Katara grinned.

"Like a baby moose lion." Aang grinned back. "I'm ready to face the Fire Lord."

"So- what's your plan?" Brenan leaned backwards on the grass. Toph followed suit. "You gonna glow up and hit him with a little Avatar State action?"

"I can't." Aang deflated. "When Azula hit me with her lightning- my seventh chakra was blocked- cutting off my connection to all the cosmic energy in the universe."

"You know what I just heard?" Toph pouted. "Blah blah blah spirit mumbo jumbo blah blah something about space."

"He just can't reach it." I shrugged. "Like someone locked the door on him and he can't find the key."

"Thanks Brittany." Aang smiled at me. I smiled back.

"Oh no. Do you think the fog will delay the invasion?" Katara pulled our attention to open waters.

"No." Sokka stood up- beckoning us to come closer. "Look- that is the invasion."

"Let's go see them!" Brenan shot off of the ground and pulled me along- the others following suit as the boats grew closer. Toph, Aang and I earth bended bridges for the boats to dock on. Katara and Sokka gunning for their father the second he got off of the boat. More people we recognized got off of the boats and onto dry land- like Hugh and the swamp rednecks- and others I know I didn't recognize.

"Hello Katara."

"Haru!" Katara ran towards a young man and hugged him. "It's so good to see you!"

"Toph- Brittany- this is Haru." Aang walked us forward. "When we met him, his town was controlled by the Fire Nation- so we had to hide his earthbending."

"Katara inspired me and my father to take back our village." And older man walked up behind them as Katara's face flushed slightly. "You helped us find our courage Katara- now we're here to help you."

I grinned. "I have questions Katara- you've been holding out on some stories."

"It wasn't that big-"

"I'll ask you then but later." I grinned at Haru. "She downplays a lot of the cool stuff she does- I bet his is a good one."

"It is."

"Hippo happy to see BLind Bandit!" I looked over my shoulder to see Toph high in the air by her past competitors in the arena we first met her in. She was unimpressed. "You guys here for a rematch!?"

"Negatory- The Boulder and The Hippo no longer fight for others entertainment." _'Oh no it's here again.'_ "Now we fight for our kingdom!"

Topg grinned. "Sweet."

Suddenly an explosion happened on one of the ship- sending a good member of us running towards it to see what the commotion was about. Under the deck emerged an older man with a monocle and spiked hair, parted in the back (as he was balding in the front), coughing up a storm as the smoke cleared around him. A boy in a wheelchair got off of the ship in response- licking some orange gunk off of his head. Sokka seemed more concerned over what caused the explosion than the new two characters. "Was that a new invasion?"

"Yes-" The older man walked toward us. "- unfortunately the incendiary capabilities of peanut sauce proved to be a failure."

Brenan nearly snorted. "You're making peanut sauce bombs?"

"They're destructive-"

"-and delicious!"

So Pipsqeak and Naduke were here too.

"Were you able to complete the work for the plans I sent you?" Sokka nervously wringed his hands together.

The man smiled. "Yes I was- and I think the Fire Nation will be quite surprised!"

"Hey Teo-" Brenan pulled me up to the boy in the wheelchair. "-this is my long lost sister Brittany. Brittany this is Teo- he and his dad lived in one of the Air Temples that we visited."

'_He looks like Kai but he's definitely cuter.'_ I thought blushing ever so slightly "Hello."

"Hi...you're cute." He blurted- instantly going red. "Uh- I mean- I'm sorry- it's nice to meet you."

He was blushing something fierce- now avoiding eye contact with the two of us as Brenan looked little put off. I giggled. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Umm...Aang- Brenan- my dad and I made these for you." He held up two staffs for the airbenders. Brenan stared at it in shock as Aang ran over and took it excitedly. Immediately it opened for Aang- showing a dazzling blue glider- complete with hand holders and foot holds. "A new glider!"

"I get my own?" Brenan opened up his up. It revealed the same design but a nice green instead of blue. "This is the best! Thank you so much!"

"As a special feature- I added a snack compartment." The mechanic winked- twisting a hand hold for the nuts to fall through and into his mouth.

"Oh...uh- I'm sure that'll come in handy." Aang said.

"Aang! Show me how to use this thing!" Brenan ran to our friend with his glider and within seconds the two of them were in the sky tasting their new toys. I felt my smile grow wider watching the two of them enjoy themselves- enjoying the moment vicariously through them. Someone coughed.

"Sorry about earlier." Teo said- still blushing ever so slightly. "Um- so… you're Brenan's sister? I don't think he mentioned you first met."

"Yeah-" I tore my eyes away from the paper birds. "- we were separated since we were very little and I'm sure we each though the other was gone forever. But why are you in a wheelchair?"

"I can't walk." He deadpanned. He seemed to think a bit more on what else to say but it was a good enough answer for me. "Ok."

"Oh… ok- yeah."

"Does your dad invent things then? Like the gliders? Sokka said something about sending some plans to him." I walked at the pace he rolled as we joined the rest of the people on shore.

"Yeah, my dad's pretty cool. He's the one who designed my chair. Since Aang helped us out last time- we thought it would be nice to make something for him. We couldn't think of what to do until Sokka actually sent us the plans...with a little while course."

"Well thank you for making one for Brenan too." I smiled. "He's wanted one for awhile now."

"It was no trouble really."

"Ok troops, time to go over the battle plan!" Hakota called out to the men.

"Brittany come here!" Katara called over to me- waving me over to sit with our group.

"Coming!"

"Wait!" Teo grabbed onto my shirt. "We'll see each other again, right?"

"Definitely." I nodded, gently pulling my shirt away from his grip. "I like you- we'll talk more."

"Ok cool. Sure. "He grinned- watching me as I walked towards my group of friends. We sat in front of the men, next to Hakota and Sokka, as we waited for Sokka to address the people and tell them his plan.

"Don't worry." Hakota put a supporting hand on his son's shoulder. "You'll do great."

Taking a deep breath, Sokka stood up and went to the stage we had made. "Good morning everyone- eh!"

He tripped.

I smacked Brenan lightly as he tried to hide his snickers and pitied the boy. Sokka awkwardly got back up and continued talking. "So- uh- as you know, today we are invading the Fire Nation! I mean- I know you know that 'cause otherwise why would you be here? Haha… anyway! The Fire Lord's palace is here."

He put up the wrong paper.

'_Oh Sokka… you must be so nervous.'_ I looked away, placing my head in my hands.

"OH wait no- it's here, no -it's here...this is palace! And there's an eclipse today! And Aang's gonna fight the Fire Lord! And the fire benders won't have any fire bending to use! So- that's good for us and uhhh…. I'm sorry let me start at the beginning. Brenan ran into our village and looked pretty beat up so we decided to help only find our that he was airbender but didn't know how to use it. While the people were dealing with him, Katara and I went on a fishing trip and found Aang in an iceberg and I didn't like Aang at first but I-"

"He's sinking." I whispered my to my friends. "Should we stop him?"

"I didn't think he would mean the beginning beginning." Katara stared in awe.

Hakota sighed and walked up to the platform, putting a hand on Sokka's shoulder- shutting him up. "Thank you Sokka- it's okay."

Sokka nodded a little and walked off the stage a little defected- taking his spot where Hakota once was. "Let me just clarify a few points for everyone." The Chief started by saying. "Today is the Day of Black Sun. And I want to thank you all for your self sacrifice and your courage. There's two steps to the invasion. Enable stage and then a land stage. To gain sea access to the Fire Nation capital, we have to get past out first major obstacle- here. The Great Gates of Azulon. Next we hit the land- we hit hard. We must fight past their battlemounds and secure the plaza tower. Once we do that- it's up to the royal palace. At that point the eclipse will begin."

"Excuse me- The Boulder is confused."

'_HOW?!'_ I looked to my lap to hide my face. '_HOW ARE YOU CONFUSED?!'_

"Isn't the point to invade **during **the eclipse? When the fire benders are powerless?"

"The eclipse only last eight minutes." Hakota answered. "Not enough time for the whole invasion and the royal palace is heavily guarded by firebenders- so that's where we'll need the eclipse's advantage the most. When this is finished- the Avatar would have defeated the Fire Lord. We will have control over the Fire Nation capital and this war will be over!"

The men in front of us cheered.

I looked to the Water Tribe kids next to us. "Your dad's actually kind of cool."

"Yeah- he is." Sokka looked ahead of himself- not cheering like the rest of us.

"You did god- don't worry about it." I said. "So you flopped… but you tried and it could have gone a lot worse considering it was your first time."

Sokka ruffled my hair but made no further comment.

The next hour was spent getting ready- armoring up and steadying our nerves- loading onto the boats for our departure and looking for Sokka who seemed to have disappeared. When the boy arrived with Aang- he was still looking a little down but we set the course and traveled onward. We sailed for ten minutes before reaching the gates. Hakota got the swamp dwellers, Katara and me to whip up another fog cover to get past.

They seemed to have still noticed us and as we continued to get closer the gates rose up and caught fire- blocking our way into the borders. On the sidelines, more motorists entered into the water like those from the fishing town. Without much time to lose- all of us were ushered under the deck and through a hidden hatch at the bottom of the ship. From there we entered into the submarines Sokka designed and went under the gates. While our friends talked and Toph vomited- Brenan and I looked through the windows and at the passing waterlife.

When a few minutes passed, I switched places with one of the swamp benders and waterbended the ship through the water (since that was how they moved). "Hey Brittany-" Katara nodded in my direction. "-bet you've never seen one of these before."

"Actually we have a lot of these back home but they don't need waterbenders to move." I answered- ignoring my slight headache. "Don't ask how- I'm not sure- I just know that they do."

"Oh."

"I've never been in one though- so I'm sure that this is a simpler design anyway." I shrugged.

"Wait- are there waterbender where you're from?"

"Up- up! We're running low on air! We must resurface!" The mechanist called out to us.

We collectively nodded and worked to lift the sub. I looked back at Katara when we were safe. "I've never met another bender of anything back home- I think we're the only ones."

"Like me then…not counting Hama." She suddenly looked very sad but I couldn't tell why. Maybe it was Hama's memory that still pops up in our nightmares- maybe it was the loneliness that comes with being the only one- maybe it was just sympathy. Ignoring the look on her face I smiled and hugged her arm to my chest. "I told you I was adopted- don't feel too bad. Go get some fresh air."

"You sure?"

"Absolutely."

She smiled a bit in return. "Only if you come with me."

I grinned and followed the older girl up and out- the rest of my friends gathering at the top. Aang stood in front of us. "So- this is it huh?

"Are you ready for the Fire Nation to know that the Avatar's alive?" Sokka grinned- trying to hype his friend up.

"I'm ready."

In his determination- we all hugged him- showing out support for the boy. "I hope you kick some serious Fire Lord butt Twinkle Toes.' Toph hugged tighter.

"You're going to look so cool- I'm a little jealous." Brena ruffled Aang's now non-existent hair. I was the first of all of us to pull away from the hug. "Don't forget about us when you're famous and all and do world tours to tell people you've won, ok?"

"Forget you guys? Never."

"Alright everyone listen up!" Hakota called for everyone's attention. "The next time we resurface it will be on the beaches so stay alert and fight smart. Now break's time over! Back in the subs!"

We nodded and started to trk back to the hatch to let us back inside. Aang and Katara stayed behind for a minute or two longer- one of the taking to the skies to meet us at the palace. We couldn't give the girl too much grief for saying goodbye. IT was her turn to give Appa his air anyway.

"Hey Giggles- you coming with us?" Toph punched my shoulder in greeting.

"What do you mean?" I rubbed the spot- hoping no one saw the flash of red I went through.

"In the tanks- you're an earthbender now- you gotta go with us."

"People here only really know me as a waterbender and I don't know if my waterbending is good enough to fight with Toph." I bit my lip.

"You're hair- you said it's different right- people expect you to be different anyway. Besides if it all goes bad you can just explode the rocks- you're good at that." She smirked.

"Ok." I took a deep breath. "Out of all the earthbenders, I'll fight by your side through thick and thin."

"Always?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." I flicked her hat. "You know for as long as I'm here."

"Good, then let's go Giggles."

When Hakota gave the cue we all ran to our battle stations and braced ourselves for any possible impact. After a few close calls the submarines finally touched land and the hatches in the front opened- revealing the tanks. The tanks themselves would drop ammunition for the foot benders and be used as shield for the foot soldiers like Sokka and Chief Hakota. Toph had managed to drag me out of one and together with her old wrestling competitors, we took out the watchtowers one by one. The Fire Nation seen revealed their own tanks that blasted fire. I transitioned from firing rocks to blocking with water as the tanks retaliated.

Just as we knocked one of the Fire Nation tanks out of communication- a giant seaweed monster emerged from the bay- attacking the opposing forces with little mercy. I grinned and went back to my spot next to Toph on the ground. From the corner of my eyes I saw Brenan during some five from the battlement on top- taking them down with his sword once he got close enough, Appa not far behind carrying other who did the same.

As the battle continued on, more Fire Nation forces were forced to fight us on foot- sending explosions left and right, trying to send us onto our back with no way of getting back up like turtle ducks. Appa suddenly flew ahead of us with Sokka on his back telling us to get into a V formation. He wanted warriors and benders in the middle of the tanks as he stormed the tower.

The fire benders that blocked us could do nothing against the metal plating of the tanks and were forced to retreat. Sokka then sent an explosive truck ahead of us to break through the wall and once it detonated- we carried straight on. "The Fire Nation is falling back Brittany!" Brenan ran up next to me. "We might actually do this!"

"Let's hope Aang is having as much success as we are!" I grabbed his hand and held him close as our invasion troops continued forward. With our forces nearly concentrated- the tanks at the front working as shields and the earthbenders firing from them occasionally, Sokka worked with the older men to devise the next course of action. I tag teamed between working next to Toph and targeting the people with my arrows ('_I'll need to restock soon.'_) as Brenan became our eyes in the sky. Everything was going smoothly until Aang unexpectedly returned. The GAang was called together to question the boy seeing as we were his right hand group. Hakota was there too but he doesn't really count, according to my sources he was injured on the battlefield and was promptly kicked out. Sokka was the first to speak. "Please tell me you're here because the Fire Lord turned out to be a huge wimp and you didn't ever need the eclipse to take him down."

"He wasn't home." Aang said. "No one was… the entire palace city is abandoned."

"They knew.."

Brenan shared a look with me. '_This is all the Earth king's fault...and ours…'_

"It's over." Aang hung his head. "The Fire Lord is probably long gone- far away on some remote island where he'll be safe during the eclipse."

"No- my instincts tell me he wouldn't have gone too far." Sokka spoke again. "He would go to a secret bunker- somewhere he could go and be safe during a siege but still be close enough to lead his nation."

"If it's an underground secret bunker we're looking for-" Toph interjected. "-I'm just the girl to find it!"

"The mechanist gave me this timing device." Sokka pulled out something close to a stop watch. "It looks like we got about ten minutes until the full eclipse… then minutes to find the Fire Lord."

"We can still do this. We can still win the day." Aang looked up now- determination in his eyes.

I looked at our members. "Are we all going?"

Aang nodded. "I'm going to need all the help I can get- there's definitely guards there but I'm only there for one person."

"Wait-" Katara sighed. "- if they knew we were coming it could all be a trap. Maybe we should use the time we have left to make sure everyone makes it of here safely."

"Everyone who's here today was prepared to risk everything for the sake of this mission." Hakota spoe up. "They know what's at stake. If there's still a chance- and there's still hope- I think they would want Aang to go for it."

Brenan put a hand on the Avatar's shoulder. "Aang it's your call. What's the plan?"

He stood up. "I have to try. Can I count on you to be with me?"

We all stood closer to the boy.

"Absolutely!"

"Then let's fly!"

We all hopped on the fastest transport we had but Katara was stopped when she tried to get on. Her father nearly fell over when he tried to stand on his own and while he protested, his daughter stayed behind to help him through the invasion. I offered to stay back as well to help others who would need healing but Katara urged me to go with them instead.

Getting Appa past the initial fighting was the first obstacle but we made it to the palace volcano in record time. We rushed to get off of the sky bison and made sure Toph could feel the place we were looking for. "What do you feel Toph?"

"There's natural tunnels criss crossing under the ground but there's something big, dense and made of metal at the center of the volcano."

"Sounds like a secret bunker to me." Sokka shrugged.

Without any cueing she pushed through the grand and into the nearest tunnel. Toph took the lead and had us follow her through the maze for what it was. "Not that way- it's a dead end!"

"What would we do without you?!"

"Perish in burning magma." Toph smirked.

I grimaced as we passed a slow moving magma flow- trying my best to ignore the heat. "Yup, that sounds about right."

The small tunnel we traveled through opened up in a cave like structure that blasted active magma through pore like geysers. "The tunnel continues that way and leads straight into the bunker."

"Ok- so we'll have to be fast and-"

"Wait!" I called out- rapidly searching through my inventory. Low and behold. My Fire Resistant Potion! I drank one asI passed some more to my group members. "This will make sure that even if you get hit by the lava or by fire, it won't hurt as bad."

"Is it magic?"

"Sure- why not?" I shrugged. "The damage will be reduced to almost nothing- better safe than sorry."

"Ok, so we need to be fast and careful." Sokka nodded to us- drinking his own potion. "This taste awful by the way."

"I can't change that- sorry." I said- running into the fray, closely followed by Brenan and the others as we made our way across the minefield. The other side then opened up to a river of lava- no floor or bridge - just straight up lava.

"Hold on tight and climb aboard." Brenan opened up his new glider. I nodded and held onto the top of the left while Toph joined me on the right. Sokka hitched a ride with Aang and nearly vomited into the river as we flew over it. Once we got to the other side of the death seea, we continued running and eventually made it to the giant metal ball in the center of the volcano. Without wasting any more time, Toph stepped forward, tapponce on the door and then metal bended her way through the door, making the space large enough for all of us to fit through. "I'm so glad we added you to the group!"

"Hurry up Sokka!" I yelled at him.

Toph continued to lead us to the best of her ability- trying to gauge out where the largest camber was and followed the path there. On the way we encountered a civilian by mistake and instantly took on a defensive stance- scaring the poor man half to death. "The Fire Lord's chamber is that way, down the hall, to the left and up the stairs- you can't miss it!"

We stepped closer to him, pressing him up against the wall and glaring at him before we all collectively relaxed. "Thanks!"

"Ok- we only have thirty more minutes until the solar eclipse." Sokka put away his watch just as we reached the door. I watched as Aang took a deep breath and steeled his nerves. "I'm ready- I'm ready to face the Fire Lord!"

Then he busted the door down with the help of his staff.

But the Fire Lord wasn't there either.

"So… you're alive after all."

_'Azula!'_ I froze for a second. '_What are you doing here?!'_

"I had a hunch that you survived." Azula continued talking to us as if our shocked faces didn't exists. "It doesn't matter… I've known about the invasion for months."

"Where is he?!" Aang got into his position again- the rest of us quickly following suit. "Where if the Fire Lord?!"

She ummed- amused. "What? Am I not good enough for you? You're hurting my feelings."

"Stop wasting our time and give us the information." Sokka glared at her- pointing his sword her way. "You're powerless right now- so you're in no position to refuse!"

"And stick to the truth." Toph stepped forward. "I'll be able to tell if you're lying."

"Are you sure?" Azula steppe down to meet us on the same level. "I'm a pretty good liar. Your friend Brittany come from a kingdom that has been our allies for decades nearly dating back to the time of Avatar Roku. She used to visit us when we were younger and made nice with my brother Zuko before she ran away like the coward and traitor she is. Her brother- the king of Minecraftia had been looking for her for over a year now and has been informed of her location and is currently on his way to retrieve her. That and those two pink freaks aren't really siblings at all." I gaped at her and looked at Brenan in pure unadulterated fear. '_He's looking for me...for real…just like in the swamp... he's looking for me and he knows where I am now!"_

"Ok- you're good I admit it." Toph huffed, before earthbending her into a cone to trap her. "But you really 'otta consider telling to truth anyway. Only lies have detail."

A pause.

The suddenly the earth around Azula started to crack and eventually exploded off of the girl- leaving her free as a bird. The Fire Nation princess smirked. "When I left Ba Sing Se, I brought home some souvenirs… Dai Lee agents."

On cue- two of them dropped from the ceiling in front of her- blocking her from any attacks we could have thrown. Making the first strike, Aang tried to blast them using his staff but was blocked off by a wall the Dai Lee created. I immediately broke it down and charged with my friends toward them- breaking through their walls along with Toph as Brenan and Aang took to the air. We focused on the Dai Lee and tried to keep their attention on us as Aang made a dash towards Azula.

We blocked and parried and threw them to the walls. I notioned to Toph to follow Aang as he left our small rock fight bubble to go and fight the princess. Brenan and I stayed behind enough to keep the Dai Lee busy. We only lost count of one. "Our friends are gone Brittany!"

I looked over once and jammed a boulder toward the Dai Lee agent in front of me- quickly casing it in ice to buy some time to catch up.

The others had already left the room by then- leaving a nice trail of exploding rick and other destroyed items in their wake."Aang! Toph! Stop attacking!" Sokka called out ahead of us. "Don't you see what she's doing? She's just playing with us! She's not even trying to win this fight!"

"Not true!" She smirked. "I'm giving it my all."

"You're trying to keep us here and waste all our time!" Toph yelled at her.

"Um- right- I think your friend just said that genius." Azula said. "And since you can't see, I think I should tell you, I'm rolling my eyes."

"I'll roll your head!" Toph spat back.

"She's just baiting you Toph." Brenan put a hand on her shoulder. "We need to find the Fire Lord."

"Ok- so what do we do? Just ignore her?" Aang turned to look at us.

Sokka shook his head. "We don't have a choice. We just have to get out of here and find the Fire Lord on our own somehow."

He then turned around and started to lead us away.

"It's a trap." Azula taunted. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"Ignore!"

I turned back around and followed the older kids.

"So Sokka's your name right?" He voice called again. "My favorite prisoner used to mention you all the time

Sokka stopped.

I thought we were supposed to ignore her." Brenan tried to push Sokka forward.

Azula kept talking anyway. "She was convinced you were coming to come rescue her. Of course you never came...and she gave up on you…"

Soka yelled out- enraged- and charged at her despite our protests. Toph then blinked and handcuffed Azula to the wall just in time for Sokka to pin her to it. The boy growled. "Where is Suki?!

In my peripheral I saw the knife that Azula had dropped to the ground in the process of being trapped against the wall."Nice catch Toph."

"Where's Suki?!" Sokka shouted again. "Answer me!"

"Sokka she's not going to talk." Aang pulled the older boy away. Sokka paused for a second- considering it before he turned to Azula again. "Where are you keeping her?!"

There was a slight explosion in the background, to which Azula smirked at. "Oh- sounds like the fire bending's back on."

With her foot she shot at Sokka but Toph tackled him out of the way of the blue flame. I went ti freeze her other foot to the wall but she jumped up and blasted her hand restraints off- making a move toward Aang. We all moved away- taking a defensive stance against her. She smirked again. "Dad's all the way at the end of the hall, down a secret stairway on the left. I'm sure he'll be more than happy to see you now."

She then ran away to the other side of the hall.

"I fell for it!" Sokka blurted out. "I used up all our time!"

"It's not your fault Sokka- Azula was ready for us! She had every move planned out!" Toph patted the Water Tribe boy's shoulder.

He looked away in shame anyway. "But now it's too late."

"Maybe it's not too late." aang spoke up. "The eclipse is over but I can face the Fire Lord anyway."

"No Aang." Brenan shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"But I'm ready! I came here with a job to do and everyone's counting on me!"

"The Fire Lord knew we were coming this time- we thought we had surprise on our side but we didn't." I sighed. "Today[s not our day- right now we need to get out of here and help our friends."

Aang looked at all of us before resigning his determination. "I guess you guys are right."

"You'll have another chance." Sokka put his hands on Aang's shoulder. "I know you will."

"We need to get out of here guys." Brenan slowly moved away from us and toward the way we came. "We need to let the other's know what happened."

"Ok." Aang nodded and took the lead. "Let's go!"

So we ran out and got on top of Appa as soon as we were out. As we flew toward our troops- we could see a hand full of blimps in front of the biggest hot air balloons I've ever seen. Each one was the size of a small town! When we landed, Katara ran over to us to ask what happened but never got the chance to- Sokka started filling her in as he hopped off. "It was all a trap! Azula knew we were coming and planned every move! We just have to get to the beach as fast as we can- if we can make it to the submarines maybe we can all get away safely."

"They've got air power but so do I!" Aang called out from on top of Appa. "I"m going to do all that I can to slow them down."

Brenan then took out his own glider and moved to hop in to the sky. "I'm coming with you Aang!" He called out. "The more air power the better!"

He then turned to me, placed a hand on my shoulder and said, "You stay safe. All of you stay safe- don't wait up!"

Then he took off.

"Appa! You and I can help too!" Katara then hopped on the sky bison and took to the air without anyone's input being needed.

We watched them for a few seconds as all three of them flew towards the war ships before Sokka ordered all of us to get to the submarines. The men and the rest of the our friends ran out of the Fire Nation and to the beaches as fast as we could- the threat of the war balloons over us. When the sky surfers plus Katara returned- Sokka then ordered us to find cover- his exact words being: "Try and find cover! I think we're about to see some bombs!"

Sure enough he was right. Toph bent the side of the mountain to cover us- breaking the shield occasionally so Toph had to support it once more. Once the rain had ended, the blimps continued ahead of us- moving toward the sea. I coughed some dust out of my lungs. "Why aren't they turning around and attacking us again?"

"They're heading toward the beach… They're going to destroy the submarines!" Aang called out.

Sokka groaned. "How are we going to escape?"

"We're not." Hakota interjected.

"Then our only hope choice is to stand and fight! We have the Avatar, we can still win!"

"Yes- with the Avatar we could still win...on another day. You kids have to leave- you have to escape on Appa together."

"What?" Katara ran toward her father. "We can't leave you behind! We won't leave anyone behind!"

"You're our only chance in the long run." Hkota continued. "You and Sokka have to go with Aang somewhere safe. It's the only way to keep hope alive."

"The youngest of our group should go with you." Another man said. "The adults will stay behind and surrender- we'll be prisoners but we'll all survive this battle."

"I've got experience with Fire Nation prisons." Haru's dad… I think... stepped forward. "It's not going to be easy but we'll get buy."

"They're at the beach already!" Sokka called out We watched as our only means of escape were destroyed completely even if the swamp dwellers fought back as hard as they could. With my earthbending we got Teo on Appa's saddle- saying nothing as he said goodbye to his father. Naduke followed suit as Pipsqueak helped him up. Brenan and I pulled him in and helped Haru next. Once Sokka and Katara got on board- Aang wiped his tears and stood up once more to face the men who stood firm. "Thank you all for being so brave and so strong! I'm gonna make this up to you!"

Then we left.

On our way out of the boundaries, we passed one of the war ships but luckily they made no move to follow us. I let go of my breath and scooted between Teo and Naduke to project my voice over the rushing air. "Aang! Where are we going?!"

"I know just the place where we can go where we will be safe for awhile!" He called back. "The Western Air Temple!"

"Make it so Aang!"

"So…" Teo said from my side as I settled back down. "You earthbend and waterbend?"

I smiled slightly at his attempt to break the tension.

" ...Yes I do."


	16. The Mark of the Flame

Appa flew for as long as he could before he had to take a break. Something in the terrain stopped us from flying any further- so we had to walk

"This is humiliating." Katar sighed.

"What? Getting thoroughly spanked by the Fire Nation or having to walk the rest of the way to the Western Air Temple?" Sokka raised an eyebrow- his taunt having no real bite to it.

"Both."

"Sorry guys but Appa does get tired having to carry all these people." Aang affectioning scratched a part of Appa's fur.

Teo looked around quickly- assessing our emotional state as a whole. "I wonder how the rest of the troops are doing."

"Probably on their way to a prison." Haru said. "It seems like my dad just got out- not he's going back in."

"I miss Pipsqueak."

"I miss not having blisters on my feet."

"Hey we're here!" Toph suddenly cried out. "I can feel it!"

But the only thing in front of us was a foggy canyon- deep enough so that the clouds couldn't let you see the bottom. I blinked- taking a step back from the edge. "Toph I think you might want your feet checked."

"No- she's right. We are here!" Aang grinned.

"Guys it's amazing!" Toph grinned even wider. "Let's go check it out!"

Brenan shrugged and took his glidr out. "Can I check it out?"

"Go ahead." Aang nodded. "Everyone- back on Appa. It's the only way down."

"Down?"

He didn't say anything else, he just helped people back on board. I quickly followed suit as Brenan hopped over the edge and held my breath as the temple came into view. It was amazing! It looked like an upside down city built into the side of the canyon. For a second I thought that everything else was upside down as well until I saw the trees growing normally on the side of some of the towers. "It's beautiful Aang!"

"It's different from the Northern Air Temple." Teo looked around.

I grinned. "What did that one look like?"

"I was high on top of a mountain- it looked like it floated by itself in the sky. I wonder if there are any secret rooms."

"Let's go check it out then!" Haru grinned, running away. Teo and Naduke quickly followed suit but Katara stopped Aang and I from joining. "Let them go - we need to talk."

"About?"

"About what do we do next. Since you're the Avatar you should be there- Brittany- you're part of our group also- so you should also be there."

I sighed but nodded. "After though?"

"You can explore to your heart's content after." She answered me.

Aang sat down and crossed his arms. "Fair enough- so - what's the new plan?"

"Well if you ask me-" Sokka joined our group, quickly followed by Toph and Brenan. "-the new plan is the old plan! You just need to muster all four element and confront the Fire Lord before the comet comes."

"Oh yeah- that's great- no problem- I'll just do that." Aang scrunched up his nose and turned away.

"Aang- no one said it was going to be easy." Katara tried to reason.

"Well it's not even going to be possible-" Aang retaliated. "-where am I supposed to get a firebending teacher?"

"We could look for Jon Jon."

"Yeah, right, like we're ever going to run into Jon Jon again."

"Who's-" Toph and I started before "sharing a look" and stopping ourselves. '_We both came in later… there's a lot of people they know that we don't.'_ Toph sighed. "Nevermind, if it's important I'll find out."

"Oh well- guess we can't think of anybody." Aang shrugged and hovered away from us. "So why don't we just take a nice tour around the temple?"

"What's up with him?" Toph asked as Aang glided away and out of our sight. Sokka sighed. "There's gotta be someone who can teach him firebending…"

The rest of us sat there for a while in silence just thinking of acceptable people to teach the Avatar the final element he needs to master. '_I wish Zuko was on our side… it would have made this so much easier if he hadn't betrayed us in Ba Sing Se.'_ I sighed. "Can I explore the temple now Katara?"

"Yeah… let's give Aang a few hours before talking about it again."

I beamed and ran away from the group, taking the first turn I saw and explored the place from top to bottom to the best of my abilities considering I havn't had a lot of time to rest since earlier until I was collected onto Appa to track Aang down again. The boy however was not easy to catch as I was and seemed to be almost running away. Katara groaned and called out after him. "Aang! Can we talk about you learning firebending now?!"

"What?" He screamed back. "The wind is too loud in my ears! Check out this loop!"

He then moved himself upward and backward and found himself in front of us again. From my side Brenan rolled his eyes and jumped off of Appa, catching up to the airbender in his own glider. "Come on Aang! We have to make a plan for our future!"

"Ok- we can do that while I show you the giant Pai Sho table." We finally got him to land. "Oh- and you're going to love the all day echo chamber."

"I think that'll have to wait." Topg glared straight ahead.

"Why?"

Appa then roared as Toph pointed behind us. We turned to look at what it was and there stood Zuko.

We gaped at him- our faces showing almost the full range of emotion except for happiness.

He raised his hand in greeting. "Hello...Zuko here."

We got into defensive positions."Hey so I heard you guys flying around down here… so I thought I'd just wait for you here…"

Appa stepped closer to the teen- roared once more and then licked Zuko. Twice more for good measure.

Aang and I dropped our positions ever so slightly.

Zuko took the slobber calmly (albeit disgusted) and turned to us again. "I know you must be surprised to see me here."

"Not really.' Sokka snapped. "Since you followed us all over the world."

"...right… well uh… anyway, what I wanted to tell you about is that I've changed and I uh… I'm good now and uh… I think I should join your group and oh! I teach firebending- to you." Zuko stuttered. Aang lost any tenseness he might have had in his stance. "See I uh-"

"You want to what now?" Toph also dropped her stance.

Katara snapped. "You can't possibly think that ny of us would trust you, can you?! I mean, how stupid do you think we are?!"

I also dropped my stance. I looked at the older boy pleadingly- switching between my friends and the prince.

"Yeah- all you've done is try to hunt us down and capture Aang!" Brenan borderline snarled.

"I've done some good things!" Zuko defended himself. "I mean, I could have stolen your bison at Ba Sing Se but I set him free! That's something!"

Appa licked Zuko again.

Appa does seem to like him." Toph completely relaxed. I nodded in agreement. "Animals have a good sense of good people. If Appa thought he was a threat then I don't think he would still be standing."

"He probably covered himself in honey or something so that Appa would lick him!" Sokka glared at him. "I'm not buying it."

"I can check." I offered- looking between the two groups. Desperately wishing despite the past evidence that they would get along. "He's out numbered anyway so it's not like he's able to try anything."

Brenan did a double take. "Brittany-"

"Ok Brittany." Aang lowered his staff. "Go check him out- go see if there's any honey or something on him."

I nodded and walked up to the older boy. First I checked the side Appa had licked him. Nothing seemed to be there- he was just wet and smelled like Appa's breath. His other side was dry- no stains- smelled like dirt instead of honey and frankly I would have lied in his favor if the claim hadn't proved to be false anyway. Zuko eyed me warily the whole time. Not saying anything that might expose us or incriminate himself as I poked and pulled a bit at his cloths. I turned to the others. "He's clean.. No honey."

"I know you guys have no reason to trust me." And I know I've made some mistakes in the past."

"Like when you attack our village!" Sokka accused the boy.

I blinked and looked at the prince. "Did you really do that?"

"Or when you used my mother's necklace to track us down and capture us?!" Katara yelled at him.

My stomach continue to drop deeper and deeper. '_It's not looking so good for you Zuko.'_

"Look I admit I've done some awful things." He took a breath. "I was wrong to try and capture you and I'm sorry I attack the WaterTribe and I shouldn't have seen that Fire Nation assassin after you-"

"Wait!" Sokka growled. "You sent Combustion Man after us?!"

I took a full step away from him.

He looked at me- a little hurt but continued talking. "Well that's not his name-"

"Oh sorry! Didn't mean to offend your friend!"

Zuko snapped. "He's not my friend!"

"That man locked me and Katara up in jail and tried to blow us all up!" Toph screamed.

Seeing where this was going, Zuko took another breath and slightly turned to look at Aang. "Why aren't you saying anything? You once said you thought we could be friends…"

The Avatar said nothing.

"You know I have good in me." He pleaded

Aang took one look towards the friends next to him and I realized that from where he stood, Zuko had no chance.

"Aang-" I said, stopping him from saying anything further. "-what will it take for Zuko to make it up to you? To all of you?"

"Brittany you can't actually be on his side!" Katara gaped at me. "After everything he's done?!"

"Well I once met a man who was nothing but evil his whole life but he turned around. He became a really nice man and good dad to his son and in the end he fought on our side." I stretched out the hem of my shirt nervously. "Zuko was never half as bad as him when we fought… not the army, Zuko specifically, and I was always told that people change so we have to keep giving them chances even if we might be only disappointed in the end."

"Brittany-" Brenan snarled. "-you can't be serious right now."

"It's Aang's choice." I stepped away from both groups. "It's his choice…"

I looked away.

"Was Azula telling the truth?" Sokka suddenly said. An arrow might have well have pierced my heart in the moment. "That whole spiel. Was she telling the truth? Were you friends with him? Is your homeland allies with the Fire Nation?! Your brother is the king of said allies to the Fire Nation?!"

"...yes." I looked down instead, trying not to cry. Big girls didn't cry. "In my defense I didn't know anything of what was going on- I just saw it as my parents going on business trips and talking during boring meetings...I was like four so I was never told anything. But I ran away because I wasn't happy there…"

"You didn't think to tell us?!"

"I didn't want to be reminded of what I was tired of being!" I couldn't stop the tears now. "I didn't want to be seen differently. You guys are so nice and I never had a lot of friends growing up in the palace and I didn't want to ruin our friendship with something I couldn't control."

"Does this mean that Brenan is a prince?" Katara then turned to him.

"I was pushed away and kicked out." My twin crossed his arms. "I'm not under that title anymore. Although if Adam's looking for you Brittany, it would just mean that we've got one more person after us."

"I didn't think he would come looking for me." I sniffled.

"We'll talk later, ok? Aang,... what's the verdict?" Brenan nervously turned to Aang who was watching this whole thing go down. Aang's stare hardened on Zuko as the topic was brought full circle. "There's no way we can trust you after everything you've done. We'll never let you join us."

I looked back to the prince next to us. '_I tried Zuko… I did.'_

"You need to leave." Brenan raised his staff again. "NOW!"

Zuko balled his hands into fists and tried to walk toward my friends. "I'm trying to explain that I'm not that person anymore!"

"Either you leave or we attack." Sokka pointed his boomerang threateningly.

Zuko looked down and got on his knees. "If you won't accept me as a friend then maybe you'll accept me as a prisoner."

"NO WE WON'T!" Katara blasted Zuko with the water she had on her person- leaving him on the ground. "Get out of here and don't come back! And if we ever see you again… well- we better not see you again!"

"Go Zuko- they're serious." I waterbended the blast away from him, trying to dry him off a little in the process. "Don't get hurt."

He said nothing as he stood up and walked away- raising a single hand in my direction. I returned it and looked back at my friends but they were too busy glaring at Zuko to even look in my direction. "Guys?"

Their glares turned to me instead.

I took a step back.

"So you admit it." Toph frowned.

"I've never liked lying- I was scared. I really didn't know."

"I can vouch for her if my opinion still matters." Brenan sighed. "She told me about it when we first met at the North Pole… I was the one who told her not to say anything."

"So you guys also aren't siblings?" Aang tilted his head.

"No- that one was the lie." We said unanimously. "S/He is my brother/sister. Nothing will change that."

"Have you lied about anything else?' Katara stared at us both. We shook our heads. "I want to keep trusting you two-"

"You can!" I sunk to my knees. "Since when have I ever fought against you Katara? Or any of you? I didn't want this to get in the way of having friends!"

"She has a point Katara." Toph shrugged, "Brenan is in a similar boat if we're questioning loyalty."

Katara then looked to the both of us before relaxing a little. Sokka then stared at us for a little longer before shrugging. "You two have been good to us and our friends and our cause. I don't think this should change our good standing just because we know more about you now."

I finally allowed myself to relax completely. "Thank you."

"What's still troubling is Zuko." Katara took to pacing out her thoughts. "Why would he try to fool us like that?"

"Well obviously he wants to lead us into some kind of trap." Sokka rolled his eyes.

"This is just like when we were together in prison in Ba Sing Se." Brenan groaned. "He started talking about family and making it seem like he's an actual human being with feelings."

"He wants you to trust him so you'll feel sorry for him and you let your guard down, then he strikes." Sokka mimed the motion.

"You know what though- it worked." Brenan growled. "I felt like we had something in common if we didn't have parents for ourselves. He seemed confused and hurt but obviously when the time came- he made his choice."

"I think he's still confused but has done too much damage to try and change because you all shot him down." I muttered, hoping no one actually heard me.

"I have a confession to make." Aang sighed. "Remember when you all got sick and I got captured by Zao?"

"And you made us suck on frozen frogs? How could I forget?" Sokka frowned. "I had a wort on the flap at the back of my mouth for a month!"

"Sokka I looked at it and told you there was nothing there" Katara rolled her eyes.

"I could feel it! It's _my_ throatal flap!"

"Anyway- when Zao had me chained up it was Zuko who came in and got me out." Aang continued on with his story- refusing to make eye contact. "He risk his life to save me."

"No way!" Brenan crossed his arms. "I'm sure he only did that so he could capture you himself!"

"Yeah… face it Aang, you're nothing but a big prize to him." Katara sighed.

"You're probably right."

"And what was all that crazy stuff about setting Appa free?!" Brenan growled. "What I liar!"

"Actually he wasn't lying." Toph finally spoke up.

"Oh hurray!" Sokka cried. "In a lifetime of evil at least he didn't add animal cruelty to the list."

"Thanks Toph.' I whispered close to her ear so only she could hear.

"You're right Toph." Katara became increasingly snarky. "Let's go find him n]and give him a metal! The Not- As- Much- As- A- Jerk- As- You- Could- Be Award!"

"All I know is that while he was talking to us he was sincere." Toph leaned against the wall. "Maybe you're just letting your hurt feelings from stopping you from thinking clearly."

"Easy for you to say!" Brenan cried out. "You weren't there when he had us attacked by pirates!"

"Or when he burnt down Kioshi Island!"

"Or when he tried to capture me at the fire temple!"

"Why are you even trying to defend him? I can at least expect that from Brittany!" Katara glared at the earthbender.

"Because, Katara, you're all ignoring one crucial fact!" Toph stalked toward them, pointing to Aang. "Aang needs a firebending teacher. We can't think of one person to do the job, now one shows up on a silver platter- and you won't even think about it?!"

"I'm not having Zuko as my teacher!" Aang walked away from Toph and stood next to Katara.

"You're darn right you're not buddy." Sokka stood next to his sisters. Brenan quickly joined their ranks-leaving it as Toph and me versus them. "Well Toph- I guess that's settled."

My friend growled. "I'm beginning to wonder who's really the blind one around here!"

Then she walked away.

"I'm with Toph." I said, watching her retreat.

"Of course you are."

"But not because Zuko used to be my friend. While I'm not giving up on him, it's not like we have a lot of time before the comet. And I believe Toph if she says he was being sincere and he offered to help… even to be prisoner- to pay for what he's done." I wiped at my eyes- scratching them to the best of my ability. "Having a firebending teacher would help the group a lot."

"Brittany- walk with me- we're having that talk now." Brenan walked up to me- grabbed my arm and started to drag me away from the group. He created a sizable gap between us and our friends- bringing us to a hidden little room in the temple- easily losing our trail if we need to return at any given moment. "What is wrong with you?!"

"I'm sorry?" I blinked at him as he let me go- turning to me with a rage I've never seen directed at me.

"Zuko's not going to be my teacher either." He snapped. "They still don't know I bend fire!"

"It's process of elimination." I tilted my head- stepping away from his ire. "It's a miracle they haven't put it together- really. Besides if you had a teacher- you wouldn't have to hide your bending- you could control it."

"I don't want to."His hands sparked.

"But you could- you should! You shouldn't have to repress that part in you!"

"NO! I hate it! I refuse! The less I use it the safer people will be! What kind of benefits does firebending have anyway?!"

"Keep you warm- cooking- forging- a lot of things. If you knew how to control it- you wouldn't be so afraid of hurting people. Don't shut me out please- don't slam the door that's open for you Brenan. You don't have to live in fear. You can be one of the few people on this world that firebend with good intentions."

"Brittany stop it." Brenan shook his hands free of the sparks.

It didn't work. "I know you mean well but I don't plan on changing my mind. A teacher? Fine! But not Zuko- he's the last person that I would want to know that I firebend!"

"Actually he does."

"What do you mean he does?"

"I et the feeling you don't remember."

"What don't I remember?!"

He sparked with more intensity- the angrier he got, the brighter they showed.

I took a deep breath.

"Back in Ba Sing Se- when we were prisoners- your hands were on fire- right in his face. I don't think he could have missed that."

"What?"

"He looked at both Aang and you when he offered to teach firebending." A slight bluff. "It would benefit the two of you."

"He knows?!"

"It could help smooth things over between the two of you if you accept."

"No!"

"Give him a chance!"

Flame.

"No! Shut up!"

"Brenan-"

"Not everyone is as nice and happy and willing to help as you want to think Brittany! Those ninja or whatever were nice but there are just bad people in the world or world's- where ever you go- you have to accept that as fact!"

Fear.

"Brenan your-"

"No! I'm talking! Usually you make so much sense but this is the one time where it's just plain stupid! You're stupid! How blind do you have to be to see he just has bad intentions for us?! He'll never change! The person, however good, that you knew is gone!"

Brightness.

"Brenan your ha-"

"SHUT UP! He's not good! He'll never be good! You're faith in people is misguided and you're too stupid to see it! You've blinded yourself to only see the person you want to see but he's not there!"

Heat.

"Brenan your hands!"

"Can you for once listen to me?! I'll never trust him! I won't let that evil freak hurt you! That's all firebenders ever seem to do! Jon Jon was the only one! Literally everyone else was determined- is determined to bring destruction on everything good here!"

"BRENAN!"

Growth.

"YOUR HANDS!"

"SHUT UP! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!"

I ran.

The fire that had been accumulating in the air and going from Brenan's hands suddenly came into one concentrating missile and was thrown in my direction at Brenan's last scream. I was almost out of the hidden room- turning on my heel as a searing pain struck my shoulder- sending me to the ground. My screams were the only thing that was registering other than the pain and the flames that were eating away at my shirt. Ina panic I flipped myself onto my back and tried to put out the fire- ignoring the hearts on my health bar disappearing- going from ten to five. Most disappeared with the initial blast.

I cast one look at Brenan as I tried to sit up- scooting myself away from the boy. He looked shocked- scared and couldn't seem to look away from his hands. Until he saw me again- regret instantly filling his features.

I ran again.

In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have but I was hurt and scared and half expected him to hurt me again. I wouldn't survive a hit like that twice.

The sun had nearly set completely at this point when I finally made my way out of the temple. The darkness had taken over by the time I reached a small creek in the middle of the closest forest. While I was no longer fire- I jumped inside. Using my waterbending- I surrounded myself in a bubble of healing and stayed there until I needed air.

"Who's there?"

I gasped and got out of the two foot deep river… "Zuko?"

Suddenly he came into my line of sight- nearly sprinting to my side when he saw my tears and half destroyed shirt. "What happened to you? Who did this?"

"I got into a fight with Brenan." I cried- trying to clean the flaking skin and the blood off of me. "He didn't see what he was doing."

"I have some cloth- I'll help, just hang on." Zuko looked as if he saw a ghost and ran back to what I think was his camp. I tried futilly to hold onto my shirt but not let it touch the wound. When Zuko came back, he started to rip some red cloth in half and used the first half to clean the places I couldn't reach even with my bending, since the skin seemed to be deeply damaged. "It's almost like when I got my scar."

I sniffled- starting to no longer feel the pain but knowing the damage was still there. I was still down four hearts. When the one half was used up- Zuko took out the there half and ripped it into a long thin strip of that, he started to wrap my shoulder to the best of his ability, around the wound trying the keep it moist to help with the inflammation. When he was done, I pulled the remnants of my shirt together and noticed that the "bandage" covered what my shirt couldn't. "Thank you Zuko."

"You probably shouldn't be seen next to me." He said. "I accidentally just burned your earthbender friend."

"Toph? Why'd you burn Toph?"

"She startled me… I didn't… it was just reflex!"

"Ok."

"Wait, what? I burned your friend and you just ...say ok?"

"What do you want me to say? You said it was an accident... I want to believe you." I rubbed my running nose and wiped it on my pants. "I think you need friends. I want to be one of them again."

"You've always been really kind to me." Zuko sat down as I water bended the water out of my clothes, (albeit slowly and painfully as I pulled the muscle from my shoulder).

I sneezed.

Zuko lite his hand with a small flame and held it close to me. I flinched and scooted ever so slightly away from it.

"My offer extended to Brenan as well."

"I figured."

We sat in silence- in the dark with the only light being the moon and Zuko's lame.

"You know when I first met him- I thought he was you. I heard you ran away...I said some awful things to him."

"I also figured that...you almost didn't want to believe it was me when we actually met again. It would also explain why Brenan hates you more than Katara does…" I looked over to him slightly, looking just under my eyelashes and into his face. "Did you tell Adam about me?"

"You mean King Sky? Your brother?"

"Azula said he was looking for me.. I don't want to go back with him… I miss home sometimes but the palace was so lonely!" I sniffled again- a new wave of tears appearing. "I want to keep helping people- I want to keep making new friends… I don't want him to find me."

"Azula was the one who said something. I remember how long those journey's took and if he's only now coming here- I wasn't even back in the Fire Nation at that time. I hope you know that I had almost no contact while I was banished- it wasn't me."

"Ok." I nodded. "I should probably go back before they start looking for me. But I still want to be your friend… is that ok? Only if you don't hurt people anymore though! I'm still sad about Ba Sing Se."

"Of course." Zuko smiled a bit, ruffling my hair- brushing the burt pieces away from my shoulder. "Do you need help standing?"

I shook my head.

"Do you need help finding your way back?"

I looked around the forrest and at the darkness we were surrounded by. I looked back at the boy next to me and stood up. "I don't want you to get in trouble anymore than you already are with my group… just point me in the right direction- I should be fine."

"You sure? I don't like that idea."

"You could… stay with till morning...at my camp…" The boy blushed lightly- obviously embarrassed from eason my younger mind couldn't fathom. "Only because there's no other option! The night isn't safe to be alone in and if you-"

"Ok- I'll leave in the morning then." I nodded and stood up, bracing myself with my good arm and following Zuko to his camp fire. He was awkward the entire time but nicely made me a small bed in his red camp and helped me lay down. The morning was just as awkward but he helped me make a small breakfast for the two of us before walking with me through the forest and to the Air Temple. Suddenly he stopped walking and pushed me behind him. "The down is that way to the right and you'll see a staircase. I have to take care of someone."

I nodded, a bit weirded out but went the way he sent me. Sure enough there was a way to simply climb down into the temple. It took me a while to get through the the eroded stairs with minimal tripping but it was all for naught. When I got to the bottom of the long staircase. An explosion erupted though the area- sending me once again to the ground. '_I was just up to eight hearts!'_

"Stop!" I heard Zuko yell. "I don't want you hurting the Avatar anymore! The mission is off! I'm ordering you to stop! Woah!"

I pushed myself up to the best of my ability before another explosion sent me down again. "Ow!"

"Brittany? Britany!" Brenan ran toward me as the rubble landed around us.

I blinked and gasped when Brena stood in front of me. He had obvious tear streaks down his face- the edges and front of his shirt was slightly burnt from the heat he expelled. He moved to reach out to me but held his hand back in a moment of self realization. "Hi… I'm back.."

Another explosion.

"What's going on?" I tried to stand up again. "Where is everyone?"

"This way!" Brenan grabbed the hem of my shirt- luckily missing my left side entirely. He probably would have burst into tears again if he touched the burn. Sokka started to lead the way out of the area with Toph in his arms as Aang and Katara dealt some blows to Combustion Man- giving us time to find cover away from the blast sight. When he sent another explosion it clearly wasn't aimed at us but the building instead. Toph looked up in horror. "He's going to blow the whole temple off of the cliffside!"

Another blast.

"I can't step out to waterbend at him without being blow up! And I can't get a good enough angle at him from down here!" Katara snarled before resting her eyes on me. Her eyes widening in shock as she took in my appearance. "Brittany- oh my god! What- Why- "

"Long story!" I leaned up against the wall, enjoying the coolness of the stone on my left shoulder. "Bigger fish to fry!"

"I think I know how to get an angle on his." Sokka warrily looked away from me as he turned to his sister. Slowly he looked around the corner- waited after a few more blasts before throwing his boomerang out into the fray. "Ok buddy- don't fail me now!"

It went flying out of his hand- successfully knocking the assassin in the head.

"Yeah boomerang!" Sokka caught it from the air. A pause. He whined instead. "Awww boomerang."

"Did you not hit him?" I called from around the corner.

"No he did. Combustion Man just stood back up." Aang called back as those who were not injured ran back around the corner.

We waited for him to attack again and while we heard the explosions, they weren't by our platform. Within seconds, we saw the lower half of the building he was perched on, fall into the canyon, taking the assassin with it. We looked down in shock and back up when we could hear a low but loud grunting sound. Zuko wasn't dead!

"Call him here." Aang said. "I want to talk to him."

I looked at the boy before doing a double take. "Me?"

"Can you?"

I looked at the bandaged shoulder before walking forward. With my good hand, I cupped my mouth and yelled. "Zuko! Come down here! We want to talk!"

He raised his hand in response and started to walk his way in our general direction- moving every now and then out of our sight when he crossed buildings. While we waited- Katara had a look at my shoulder, getting me out of the boys view and actually patching it up with real bandages. "Brenan did a number on you- didn't he?"

"Wait you-!"

"He told us this morning about the time Toph came back- crying and panicking about how you just run away after he hurt you. He feels really bad about it." She hummed.

"I know he didn't mean to- he's not that kind of person." I winced at the change in pressure. "It only proves my point though- if he learned then this wouldn't happen."

"Perhaps- why didn't you come back? We all thought you were with Toph."

"I went to find a river away from the temple- I found Zuko instead and he helped patch me up." I answered honestly as Katara finished her healing and rewrapping.

"I see…"

I then stood up feeling a little better about the whole thing and turned to my friend. "I still think he's trying to do good you know- he's just bad at it."

"He's here!" Sokka called out to us. Katara didn't reply but lead the way to where the GAang went to meet the Fire Nation prince. When we got close enough- Aang sighed and started to speak. "I can't believe I'm saying this but… thank you Zuko."

"Hey- what about me? I did the boomerang thing." Sokka raised an eyebrow but we ignored him.

"Listen I know I didn't explain myself very well yesterday. I've been through a lot in the past few years. It's been hard." Zuko looked right at Aang. "But I'm realizing that I had to go through all these things to learn the truth. I thought I had lost my honor and that somehow my father could return it to me but I know now that no one can give you your honor. It's something you earn for yourself by choosing to do what's right. All I want now is to play my part in ending this war. And I know that my destiny is to help you restore balance to the world. I'm sorry for what I did to you. It was an accident." Zuko bowed to Toph.

"Fire can be dangerous and wild- so as a fire bended I need to be more careful and control my bending, so I don't hurt people unintentionally."

"I think you are supposed to be my firebending teacher." Aang said at last. "When I first tried to learn firebending I burned Katara and after that I never wanted to fire bend again. But now I know you understand how easy it is to hurt the people you love."

Aang bowed.

"I'd like you to teach me."

Zuko bowed back after a second of processing this information. "Thank you. I'm so happy you've accepted me into your group."

"Not so fast." Aang frowned. "I still have to ask my friend if it's ok with them. Toph- you're the one who Zuko burned- what do you think?"

She didn't even look up. "Go ahead and let him join- it'll give me plenty of time to get back at him for burning m feet." She pounded a fist into her hand.

Aang smiled. "Sokka?"

Sokka looked like he wanted to disagree but hung his head and shrugged. "All I want is to defeat the Fire Lord. If you think this is the way to do it- then I'm all for it."

Aang nodded before turning to me. "Brittany?"

"Sure!" I grinned. "I think he also needs a teacher but it's for how to be good. What better people than us?"

Aang laughed a bit. "Katara? What do you think?"

She did not look happy at all but also relented even if she continued to glare. "I'll go along with whatever you think is right."

Aang smiled.

'_Clearly he was the most worried about her reaction. She was the game breaker.'_

Aang looked to the final person. "Brenan? What do you think?"

He looked at his hands in hinted fear before looking up to glare at Zuko. My twin turned to Aang. "I won't be happy about it but I have one condition." Brenan stole a quick glance in my direction. He sighed- clearly dreading his next words. "He has to teach firebending to me too."

"I won't let you down!" Zuko suddenly beamed. "I promise!"

My friends walked away, leaving me there last. I watched them leave before turning to the older boy. "Congratulations."

"To be honest I think you did most of the work." He smiled sheepishly.

"Nah-" I said, hopping off the rock. "They all knew I was on your side- it's not like they were listening to me."

Sokka then come back Toph-less. "Come with me- I'll show you your room."

Zuko looked at me before following Sokka away. I smiled and took a nap.


	17. Zuko's Redemption

The next morning Zuko took the airbenders to a remote part of the temple to show how to properly firebend. The three of them were gone for the entire day and only returned when the sun was starting to set. We all got together for dinner and chatted by the camp as we ate and got ready to sleep. Zuko stood apart from us for a while before walking towards us. "Listen everybody- I've got some pretty bad news. I've lost my stuff."

"Don't look at me!" Toph cried out. "I didn't stop your stuff!"

"I'm talking about my firebending. It's gone."

Katara laughed.

"I'm sorry…" She smirked. "I'm just laughing at the irony- you know- how it would have been nice for us for you to lose your firebending a long time ago."

I frowned and punched her shoulder with my bad arm. "Be nice."

Brenan sighed, looking less than pleased. "As you can imagine- Aang and I didn't do much today."

"Well it's not lost, just weaker for some reason." Zuko hung his head low.

"Maybe you're just not as good as you think you are."

Topg snorted. "Ouch."

"Can we please not fight?" I looked between Brenan and Katara. "Please?"

Brenan at least had the decency to look somewhat ashamed.

"I bet it's because I changed sides." Zuko suddenly said.

"That's ridiculous." Katara rolled her eyes

"I don't know. Maybe it isn't." Aang turned to Zuko. "Maybe your firebending comes from your rage? And you just don't have enough anger to fuel it like you used to…"

"Sooo… all we need to do is to make Zuko angry." Sokka grinned before poking the boy mercilessly with the blunt of his sword. "That sounds easy enough."

"OK CUT IT OUT!" Zuko yelled- making Sokka's sword drop in his head. "Look! Even if you're right- I don't want to rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way."

"You're going to need to learn to draw your firebending from a different source." Toph piped up. "I recommend- the original source."

"How's he supposed to do that?" Brena sat up from his spot on the ground. "By jumping into a volcano?"

"No- Zuko need to go back to whatever the original source of firebending is."

"So… it is jumping into a volcano?"

"I don't know." Toph shrugged. "For earthbending the original benders are badger moles. One day when I was very little- I ran away and hid in a cave. That's where I met them. They were blind just like me so we understood each other. I was able to learn earthbending not just as a martial art but as an extension of my senses. For them- the original earthbenders- it wasn't just about fighting. It was their way of interacting with the world."

"That's awesome Toph." I smiled and leaned back. Avoiding the muscles in my shoulder the best I could.

"I learned from the monks that the original airbenders were the sky bisons." Aang hopped on the train of storytelling. "Maybe you can give me a lesson sometime buddy!"

Appa grunted in response.

"Well it doesn't help me." Zuko sighed. "The original firebenders were the dragons but they're extinct."

"What do you mean?" Aang tilted his head. "Roku had a dragon and there were plenty of dragons when I was a kid."

"WELL THEY AREN'T ANYMORE OK?!"

"Ok- ok- sorry."

"But maybe there's another way…" Zuko walked to the railing that looked over the broken fountain. "The first people to learn from the dragons were the sun warriors."

"Sun warriors? Well I know they weren't around when I was a kid."

"No- they died off thousands of years ago. But their civilization isn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we can learn something by poking around in their ruins."

"That's what the monks used to tell me. Sometimes the shadows of the past and be felt by the present."

"So what?" Brenan looked over his shoulder. "Are you just going to pick up some old sun warriors energy just by standing where they stood a thousand years ago?"

"You're coming too Brenan." Brenan suddenly gaped at Aang. "If this is a firebending journey, you're coming also."

"As you wish o' great and mighty Avatar." Brenan looked back to the fire in front of him.

"It's either that and I firebend or the Avatar has to find a new teacher." Zuko looked at Aang.

"I think it's worth a try. A firebending trip!" I grinned. "It sounds like fun!"

"We leave first thing in the morning then." Suko nodded toward both boys.

I smiled toward my brother who looked a little worse for wear. I tried to wake up early to help them get ready but instead I was only early enough to see them off. "Take care you guys!"

"Brittany…" Brenan kept his distance. "Will you be ok? With me leaving and all?"

"Of course!" I hugged him- feeling him tense up and not hug back. "This is a part of you accepting and learn to harness something inside. I hope it goes well for you!"

"Brittany - I never apologized for hurting you."

"That's ok." I tried to keep my smile up. "It was an accident! Which only means I was right. You need a teacher to help you control it and if this is the only way to help with that- I'm all for it. I don't want you to fear your abilities. It's not like you asked for it."

"Aren't you a little bit mad at me?"

"You're being stupid." I rolled my eyes. "Just come back safely and unharmed- that'll be enough for me."

Brenan nodded and with a tight smile he got on top of Appa and left with the other boys. I turned to go do something else for the day when Teo approached me. "Good morning!"

"Good morning."

"How's your shoulder?"

I looked at it, moving it experimentally. "Almost healed- Katara's been helping me a lot with that and I occasionally heal it too. She said it's gonna be a nasty scar though."

"Brenan did seem pretty upset about it." Teo nodded and rolled along my side as we walked and talked. "It seemed even worse when we realized you didn't come back for the night. We were all pretty worried."

"Sorry about that." I laughed sheepishly. "I needed some space but I can see how that would be a bad decision… Do you think Brenan will be ok? I don't want him to be afraid of himself."

Teo shrugged. "I think the journey will help him. Do you want to do something?"

I blinked. "Like what?"

"There's a cool tunnel by some statues that I like to ride through. Have you seen it?"

I shook my head. "Between trying to help Aang and getting hurt, I honestly haven't seen much of this place."

"Then I'll show you all the cool stuff I found!" The boy next to me suddenly grinned. "Come on!"

I smiled and ran after him- trying to make the best of my day.

Night fell and the boys still hadn't returned.

It seemed to me that Teo had made it his personal mission to distract me from both my missing brother and my injury, getting help from the other Earth Kingdom civilians to keep laughing and happy- even for a little while.

When night fell again the boys gleefully returned- eager to show us what they learned from their field trip. They all seemed to control fire well enough. Zuko getting his power back and the airbenders looking much more confident than before.

"With this firebending technique we'll all be unstoppable." Aang grinned as they all finished their dance. We all politefully clapped when it was over.

"That's a great dance you got there." Sokka leaned back.

Zuko frowned at him. "It's not a dance. It's a firebending form."

"We'll just tap dance our way to the Fire Lord then."

I giggled.

"It's a sacred form that happens to be thousands of years old!"

"Oh yeah- what's your little form called?" Katara smirked.

Zuko grimaced. "... The Dancing Dragon."

We all laughed- much to his chairgain.

"Either way-" I grinned. "-I'm glad it went well and I'm glad you two seem more comfortable with yourselves." I said looking at the two airbenders. "That's one less thing we have to worry about."

Brenan looked to the ground, avoiding eye contact. "Ok… yeah."

'_He still feels bad then…'_ I frowned. '_It's a start if he's able to learn anyway without freaking out.'_

From the background I could hear Zuko sighed before saying something completely unexpected. "Should I make some tea?"

"That sounds lovely."

"Now- no one can make tea like Uncle." He said- pouring it into the cups we had after preparing it. "But hopefully I learned a thing or two. Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?"

"Sure."

"I like jokes."

"Bring it!"

"Ok- well I can't remember how it starts but the punch like is- _leaf_ me alone I'm _bushed_!"

We all just looked at him.

"Well it's funnier when Uncle tells it."

"Right… probably because he remembers that whole thing." Katara looked up from her cup of tea. We laughed at that at least.

Toph smiled. "You know- it's nice to get a chance to relax a little. It hardly ever happens."

"That's true." I sipped on my tea. It actually wasn't half bad. It need a little sugar but it worked in a pinch.

"Hey- can I talk to you in a second?" Sokka lead Zuko farther away from the group. I followed them with my eyes but gave up when they moved out of ear shot. Teo poked me from my side. "Hey, Brittany."

"Hm?"

"You said your shoulder is almost healed right?"

I nodded. "Yeah- between me and Katara, it's healing really fast." '_I'm only missing one heart now!'_

"Haru was scared to asked you but he wants to duel with you."

"I'm not scared! She just likes you more!"

I chuckled. "Well maybe… maybe when the bandages get taken off."

"And we find you a new shirt." Katara said. "We're trying to find enough cloth to make one. Just pinning that shirt together isn't going to last any longer- face it- it's trashed."

I shrugged. "It was getting small anyway."

"Don't we still have clothes from the Fire Nation?" Toph rolled her head back. "Can she just switch out again?"

"Wait- do we?" I blinked at the girl.

Katara considered this. "I'll take a look in the morning. It's too dark to look now but we should…?"

I nodded and slowly moved to lay down. "If I fall asleep, don't wake me up."

It honestly didn't take me long to fall asleep.

When I woke up Sokka and Zuko were gone, but luckily they left a note. It said they were going to get fish and that it would take a few days. Which is all fine and dandy but Zuko gave the two airbenders homework while he was gone which promptly started after the note was read.

"No one else has homework." Brenan whined.

"The faster we do it- the faster it's over." Aang said- starting his round of hot squats.

"Until another frog croaks."

"I found them!" Katara called out

"Yay!" I ran over to her. "Cloths that fit! Are the best!"

"Here you go!" The clothes were handed to me. "Do you need help with the bandages?"

I shook my head. "It feels a lot better today! I should be fine by tomorrow!"

Katara smiled. "Good- it's great to see you act more like yourself again."

"If only Brenan would feel better too." I mumbled.

"He'll come around. He just needs time."

I shrugged and left the area the change into my outfit from before. I once again had the scarf around my shoulders instead of my waist out of habit and didn't notice until it was pointed out to me, by Haru of all people. "I thought it was supposed to go around the waist?"

I blinked. "Oh… I just wear it like this to hide my hair."

"...why?"

"It's pink? Not a common color… you know, easily recognizable? I travel with the Avatar and have to keep a low profile?" I sheepishly tugged at the fabric, feeling my insecurities poking my face with its blazing fingers. _'Is this wrong?'_

Teo looked at me- eyeing me up and down before saying, "I don't think you should hide it ever again."

"I'll keep that in mind." I said smiling.

"Let's go- there still one place I haven't seen!"

Night and day came.

Then came again.

And on the third night we panicked momentarily when a Fire Nation war balloon came floating toward the air temple. Our group went to go check it out as the other kids hid amongst the buildings. It floated toa landing peacefully on the temple and out walked Zuko and Sokka.

"What are you two doing in this thing?" Katara stared wide eyes. What happened to the war balloon?"

Zuko shrugged. "It kind of got destroyed."

I grinned. "So you upgraded it!"

"Something like that."

"Sounds like a crazy fishing trip." Brenan ran his hands through his hair. Toph tilted her head. "Did you at least get some good meat?"

"I did- I got the best meat of all." Sokka stepped aside. "The meat of friendship and fatherhood."

From the platform walked out Chief Hakota, Suki and some giant new guy.. "I'm new! What's up everybody?"

"Dad…"

"Hi Katara."

They ran into a hug.

"How are you here? What's going on? Where did you go?"

"We … kind of went to a Fire Nation prison." Sokka said offhandedly- like it was an everyday occurance.

The reunited family hugged once more.

"Seriously, you guys didn't find any meat?" Toph blinked in surprise.

I face palmed. "Toph- let them have their moment."

"But meat-"

"Toph." Brenan rolled his eyes before patting her shoulder consolingly. "Drop it."

She sighed but gave up on the idea eventually.

The night was spent with a sense of togetherness and completeness… even if there was barely enough blankets to go around. Sleep was peaceful and it was one of our calmest nights we had in a very long time.

Imagine our surprise when we woke up to an explosion.

Aang was the first to take action as he blasted away other bombs headed our way and closed to space we had taken refuge in. As the building continued to take damage- the ceiling started to break apart and crumble, nearly falling on top of Katara. It was have been a direct hit too if Zuko hadn't tackled her out of the way just before it hit her. As the two got off of the ground, Haru, Toph, and I earthbended a tunnel for the others to escape through.

We all went to make an exit but Zuko opted to stand outside and hold them off as we all turned to leave. "Zuko!" I cried out. "Don't do it! We have to leave!"

He looked away from me and toward the attacks. "I think this is a family visit."

"We don't have time!" Sokka and Katara ran up to Aang and I- trying to pull Appa through the hole in the temple. "We have to get out of here!"

Appa wouldn't budge even with four of us tugging on his reigns.

"I can't get him to go in there!" Aang cried. "Appa hates tunnels!"

"He has a reason though." I grunted- pulling to the best of my ability. "Remember the Cave of the Two Lovers of whatever it was?"

"There's no way we can fly out of here!" Brenan called out over Appa's protesting.

Aang gave up on trying to pull Appa through. "We have to find a way."

"We need to split up then." Sokka said, dropping the reins as well. He turned to the other kids plus the prison escapees. "Take this tunnel and get to the stolen airship!"

"NO!" Katara scowled. "The Fire Nation can't separate our family again!"

Hakota put his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "It'll be ok. It's not forever."

She wasn't happy about it but Katara hugged her father goodbye once again- followed by Sokka who grabbed Suki on top of that before the three of them joined our group back to Appa. I waved goodbye to them as they turned down the tunnel. "Stay safe guys!"

"I can clear that area and we can fly out through there." Toph hopped onto Appa as the rest of us got on.

Suki didn't seem to be impressed by that idea. "There's an awful lot of fire in that direction."

We'll get through."Aang took his place on Appa's head and waited for Toph's cue. "Let's go!"

So out we flew! Toph holding together as we flew into the fray. Someone tried firing at us- the blue flame that simmered ou on the side was evidence enough but when we were out of reach- Toph dropped the rocks.

From behind us, another warship floated to the join the rest of them with Zuko standing on top. We watched him jump off of it to fight his sister before becoming hyper aware of the situation we were in. Between Katara and I- we blocked the shots from the other firebenders aboard the hoard that surrounded us as Aang tried his best to maneuver us out of harm's way. Thanks to a turn of fate, we managed to fly under Zuko- catching him after he somehow exploded himself off of the warship- leaving his sister to free fall.

And she continued to free fall.

Zuko blinked. "She's… not gonna make it."

Suddenly she firebended herself toward the cliffside and caught herself amongst the rocks.

"Of course she did…"

I tugged at Sokka's leeve- gaining his attention. "Where do we go Sokka? You have the maps."

He looked started for a second before fumbling through Appa's packs. "Right- just give me a second. I'll find a place."

We nodded at his decision and Sokka became the navigator, giving Aang directions and finding us a quaint little island back in Fire Nation territory while we'll be undisturbed. The sun started setting when we landed- Brenan got a fire going- Katara started cooking dinner- Sokka and I set up the tents- instantly started going through our routine that we practiced over and over and over again.

Aang looked at us all over the campfire. "Wow- camping." He said with a laugh. "Feel's like old times, doesn't it?"

I snorted. "Did we ever stop camping? The only time I can remember right now that we slept in beds was with Hama and that only lasted one night."

"I'm actually ok with this." Brenan shrugged- tearing apart a cracker. "It was nice falling asleep to the stars."

"If you really want to feel like old times, I could… chase you around awhile and try to capture you." Zuko shrugged, smirking.

"Like you of all people could win in a game of extreme tag against an airbender." I rolled my eyes- smacking him lightly to show I was joking.

We all laughed except for Brenan and Katara. Brenan at least rolled his eyes but he didn't seem too amused. '_Hey- what's up? You ok?'_

**'Zuko may not be as bad as before but I don't trust him fully.' **Brenan side eyed the former prince.** 'I need more proof.'**

"To Zuko!" Zuko lifted his cup. "Who knew that after all those times he tried to snuff us out- that today, he'll be out hero?"

"Here! Here!" We cheered. Aang and Toph nudged his arms while I got on my knees to ruffle his hair.

"I'm touched." Zuko smiled slightly before it fell. "I don't deserve this."

"Yeah- no kidding." Katara got up and left without another word. Brenan frowned even deeper but refused eye contact with the rest of us.

Sokka took one look at Brenan then at Katara before saying, "What's up with her?"

"I wish I knew." Zuko stood up also and walked after her.

Sokka blinked again. "What's with him?"

I shrugged but watched the two fo them leave warrily. '_She hated Zuko also but at least Brenan's firebending trip smoothed things over slightly for both Aang and him.'_ I sighed. "They have a lot to talk about I guess."

Aang shrugged. "I hope they work things out- Zuko really isn't all that bad."

"That sounds familiar."

"Yeah, yeah- you were right Brittany." Aang ruffled my hair. "I'm gonna hit the hay- goodnight guys!"

"Goodnight Aang." A chorus rang out.

"Hey." Suki nudged me with her foot. "Are you going to get a haircut? The burned edges don't look so good for your hair. How'd it get like that anyway? What happened?"

I picked at the burnt strands and shrugged, ignoring Brenan's abrupt declaration that he was going to bed also. "A Fire Nation assassin got too close for comfort… but I like my hair long… I might just grow it out and then cut it so that it's all even."

"You sure? I can make it sort of even - but it'll have to be cut shorter than the burned area. Just short enough to make it seem like you weren't blown up. It's really short by your shoulder though...are you thinking of bangs? I think you'd look great."

I blinked and looked that the warrior. "You can do that?"

She nodded.

"That actually sounds good to me." I grinned, standing up. "Can you do it in the morning?"

"Sure thing!"

"Sweet! Thank you very much!"

Then I went to sleep.

When I woke up hours later I realised two things. One- everyone else was already awake and two, Katara was willingly walking with Zuko toward Aang and Appa. I struggled to wake myself up as I made my way over to them. When I got close enough I heard Aang say, "Why? Is it your turn to take a special field trip with Zuko?"

"Yes- it is."

I stopped walking.

"Oh…" Aang suddenly turned serious and concerned. "What's going on?"

Katara was not deterred. "We're going to find the man that took my other from me."

"Sooka told me the story of what happened." Zuko said. "I know who did it and I know how to find him."

"Ummm- and what exactly do you think this will accomplish?" Aang's frown deepened.

Katara shook her head and scoffed starting to walk away. "I knew you wouldn't understand."

"Wait! Stop! I do understand!" Aang called out to her. "You're feeling unbelievably pain and rage. How do you think I felt about the sand benders when they stole Appa? How do you think I felt about the Fire Nation when I found to what happened to my people?"

"She needs this Aang." Zuko interrupted. "This is about closure and justice."

"I don't think so-" Aang met him head on. "I think this is about getting revenge."

"Fine! Maybe it is!"

I blinked in shock and force myself to walk closer to the group. "Katara…"

"Maybe that's what I need. Maybe that's what he deserves…" She growled.

"Please don't turn into Hama." I said- causing the older girl to turn to me in shock and betrayal. "That's exactly what she thought, Katara- you're scaring me."

"You don't get it!"

"Katara!" Aang stepped closer to her- blocking me in the process. "You're starting to sound like Jet."

"It's not the same!" She deflected again. "Jet attacked the innocent! So did Hama! This man- he's a monster!"

"Katara she was my mother too." Sokka finally stepped closer. "But I think Aang might be right."

"Then you didn't love her the way I did!"

Instantly, her brother looked like he was struck in the face. "...Katara…"

She turned away from him.

I gently placed a hand on Sokka's arm. "...Why would you say something like that Katara?"

"The monks used to say that revenge is like a two headed rat-viper." Aang sighed. "While you watch your enemy going down, you're being poisoned yourself."

"That's cute but this isn't Air Temple preschool." Zuko spoke up again. "It's the real world."

"Now that I know he's out there- now that I know we can find him- I feel like I have no choice. "Katara glared at the three of us against her.

"Katara-" Aang tried reasoning again. "You do have a choice. Forgiveness."

"That's the same as doing nothing." Zuko stepped forward.

"No it's not. It's easy to do nothing but it's hard to forgive."

"It's not just hard." Katara spat. "It's impossible."

She then turned on her heel and walked away from us with Zuko in tow and avoided us for the rest of the day. I was concerned and scared for her over the things she said and told such to Brenan and Suki as I got my hair cut. "I think she just has to sort things out a bit." Suki commented. "It's a wound that never fully healed, and it's almost like putting salt on it, so it hurt more than it did before. It'll go down again though and she'll be a bit embarrassed in the process but I think she'll be herself again."

"You think so?"

"You trust her don't you?"

"She's one of my best friends." I shut my eyes as Suki blew from stray hairs out of my face. "Of course I trust her."

"It doesn't sound like her to do that thought." Brenan crossed his arms and sat back, watching as my hair was being cut shorter and shorter. "Did Zuko plan this?"

"I think he's trying to give Katara a face to blame for her mothers death instead of his own." I pouted. "That's why he was so for it."

"That sounds likely." Suki nodded in agreement. "There. All done."

Brenan smiled. "You look good."

"Yeah?" I bended a bit of rock up and threw some ice on it for a makeshift mirror. The left half of my face was covered in bangs that stopped by my ear. The rest of hair was cut to be just above my shoulder blades. She didn't go as short as I feared and frankly she professionally blended the bangs into the hair in the back while the right side was virtually untouched save for the shortening. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't how I would have liked my hair to be. Personally, I wouldn't have it been set aflame to begin with but this is what I have to work with. "Thank you Suki." I smiled. '_It would definitely take some getting used to….hair grows back anyway who am I kidding! I can totally rock this look!'_ "I like it."

"I'm glad."

When the time came, Brenan and I took it upon ourselves to make dinner without Katara. We served it to everyone else but saved some for Katara and Zuko for when they felt like socializing again. I overheard Aang and Sokka planning to stage a sting operation to watch Appa in case those two decided to do something and offered my help but was shot down. Those two had it covered they said.

Being my curious self I decided to ask them about it in the morning.

"How did it go? Where are they?"

"So… they stole Appa.." Aang sighed.

"What?!"

"I let them though. Katara really needs to work through this and she's clearly listening to Zuko instead- they can handle themselves."

Brenan tried to brush the sleep out of his eyes and sat up. "When do you think they'll be back?"

"A week at least." Sokka shrugged. "More or less. Three days is my guess."

"Are you ok with this?" I tilted my head. "Your sister doing this I mean."

"She's tough and good in a fight." He said. "I don't doubt that. My only request is that she comes back unharmed and feeling better."

"But are you ok with your sister being alone with a guy?" Suki leaned back. "Not to mention that that guy is Zuko of all people."

"She's tough and good in a fight. I'm frankly more concerned about Zuko."

"I hope Zuko knows what he's doing." Aang glared into some empty space. '_I don't think he likes the idea of them being alone._' I chuckled quietly to myself at the thought.

Three days later- just as Sokka predicted- Zuko came back to get all of us from our small camp site. On the way to where he left Katara the former Fire Nation prince told us about how they found the man and how Katara nearly killed him but didn't. When we landed in a separate island entirely, Aang was the first to hop out and talk to Katara, who sat by herself on a small dock.

She exchanged words with Aang even though she wasn't within hearing she got up, she hugged Zuko, much to out shock and made her way towards us.

"Katara you're ok!" I cried out, jumping out to greet her.

"...Yeah I am." She smiled softly before turning to Sokka, keeping me in her gaze. "I owe you both an apology. I said some cruel things to you both- to you especially Sokka, I'm sorry."

"We're still friends, right?" I asked.

"Of course!" She smiled- widening it when I hugged her. "Then there's nothing to forgive!"

"You know I can't stay mad at you for too long anyway." Sokka rolled his eyes but hugged his sister as well.

"Hey! Zuko!" Brenan called out from on top of Appa. "Where are we?"

"We're on Ember Island." Zuko replied. "My family has a house that we no longer use. We can stay there for the time being. It's right there over the hill."

"Really?"

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" I yelled, booking it toward the beach house- the thundering sound of footsteps not far behind me.


	18. The Ember Island Players

The group divided the rooms inside and cleaned the place the best we could to make it at least stayable. Between Katara and I it went relatively fast. The house itself was beautiful and made me wonder how it would have looked in its prime. After a full day of cleaning and rearranging and exploring- we once again rested and tried our best to lay low. Even changing our clothes back to our Fire Nation disguises….I changed the fastest seeing as I was stuck in half my disguise anyway.

When all was said and done, Zuko practiced with the airbenders in the courtyard to work on their firebending technique. Suki and Sokka had gone into town to buy us food for a few days while the rest of us girls simply watched the boys move and fire the energy from their hands.

"It's kind of weird that we're hiding from the Fire Lord in his own house." Katara leaned back as the boys cleaned the sweat off of themselves.

"I told you- my father hasn't come here since my family was actually happy." Zuko sighed- pushing the towel aside. "And that was a long time ago. It's the last place anyone would think to look for us."

I shrugged. "It's pretty though- this place is nice."

"It was."

"Hey you guys!" Sokka booked it into the courtyard with paper in hand. "You're not going to believe this! There's a play about us!"

"We were just in town and we found this poster." Suki said. Sokka then pulled the paper open that showed all of us painted on it fighting positions but it looked interesting enough.

"What?" Katara stood up to look at it. "How is that possible?"

"Listen to this." Sokka turned it around again and began reading it out loud. "-The Boy in the Iceberg is a new production from acclaimed play write Pua Tim, who scoured the globe finding information on the Avatar. From the icy South Pole to the heart of Ba Sing Se. His sources include singing nomads, prisoners of war and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage."

"Brought to you by the critically acclaimed Ember Island Players." Suki finished.

"UGH!" Zuko groaned, catching our attention. "My mother used to take us there to see them. They butchered Love Amongst the Dragons every year."

"Sokka do you really think it's a good idea for us to attend a play written about us?" Katara looked away from the brooding boy.

"Come on!" Sokka begged. "A day at the theater? This is the kind of whacky time wasting nonsense I've been missing!"

"Let's go!" I grinned. "We've been too serious lately and we need a break. So why not?"

"See Brittany has the right idea." Sokka smacked my left shoulder- directly on the burn mark.

"OW!"

"Sorry - sorry - sorry - I'm so sorry."

"It's ok…" I hid my smirk. It's been fully healed for a while now.

Then it was decided- whether by guilt or by genuine interest- that we would go to the theater. We found some coin and each of us bought a ticket to the play later that day once the sun had set. Luckily for us there were some seats in the back where we wouldn't be spotted. Toph, Katara, Zuko and Aang took the first bench, in that order, while I, Brenan Sokka and Suki took the bench behind them.

"Why are we sitting in the nosebleed section?" Toph crossed her arms. "My feet can't see a thing from us here!"

I adjusted the scarf around my head, hiding my uncooperative hair. "Don't worry Toph! I'll tell your feet what's happening."

The whispers in the theater died down as the curtains were pulled upwards- displaying a similar snowscape of the South Pole. "Oh Sokka!" Katara's actress cried. "How will we ever manage in our small village? Where hope is so low and there's no chance of change?!"

**_Crack_**

A large, bright light then covered the stage and when it died down, a man was on the ground in blueish clothes with bright pink hair. "Where am I? Who are you?"

He also looked pretty beat up.

"Calm down there stranger." Sokka's character helped him to stand. "A nice meal will help you feel better- Katara can you show him to the tent where the medical supplies are kept. I'm going fishing."

"Dear brother! I will join you!" Katara quickly pushed the Brenan guy off of the stage. "There is a change in the wind this day!"

The scene then changed to Katara and Sokka paddling a boat.

The actual people in front of us (or next to me) seemed a little put off at the costumes and their lines. Well the Water Tribe kids were a little put off at their lines, seeing as Brenan's character didn't say much. The actress spoke again. "Oh Sokka, my only brother! We constantly roam these icy South Pole seas and yet never do we find anything… fulfilling."

"All I want is a full feeling in my stomach." Sokka's actor grinned. "I'm starving."

The audience laughed.

"Is food the only thing on your mind?"

"Well- I'm trying to get it out of my mind… and into my mouth! I'm starving!"

The audience laughed again.

"This is pathetic!" Real Sokka said. "My jokes are** way **funnier than this."

Toph laughed. "I think he's got you pinned."

"Everyday the world awaits a beacon to guide us, yet none appears!" On stage Katara said. "Still- we cannot give up hope- for hope is all we have! And we must never relinquish it! Even- even to our dying breath!" Then she started sobbing.

Real Katara crossed her arms and glared at her. "Well that's just silly."

Suki and Sokka his their snickers behind her.

"I don't sound like that."

Toph grinned even further. "Oh man- this writer's a genius!"

Another bright light came onto the stage as they wheeled in a cardboard iceberg with a cut out inside of it. "It appears to be someone frozen in ice! Perhaps for one hundred years!"

"But who? Who is the boy in the iceberg? "Fake Sokka said.

"Waterbend! Hya!"

Poof! The iceberg cracked open and out flipped the person who played Aang. It was a very short girl.

"Who are you frozen boy?"

Fake Aang laughed. "I'm the Avatar silly- here to spread joy and fun."

"Wait!" I heard Aang from below me. "Is that a woman playing me?!"

On stage a giant chinese dragon puppet of Appa jumped forward and ran around a bit before heading off stage. Fake Katara then gasped in shock and said. "An airbender! My heart is so full of hope that it's making me tearbend!"

Then she started crying again.

"My stomach is so empty that it's making me tearbend too!" Both actors then crouched down and hugged Fake Aang's legs. "I need meat!"

A gasp. "But wait! Is that a platter of meaty dumplings!"

"Oh where? Where?"

Fake Aang laughed. "Did I mention I'm a incurable prankster?"

The audience laughed as Aang sat up grumpily. "I don't do that! That's not what I'm like! And I'm not a woman!"

"They nailed you Twinkle Toes!" Toph laughed along with the audience. Even I couldn't help but laughed a bit much to the chargain of the rest of my friends.

The scene changed again to a boat with Iroh and Zuko on it.

Before Zuko had a full head of hair.

"Prince Zuko you must try this cake!"

"I don't have time to stuff my face. I must capture the Avatar to regain my honor!" Fake Zuko yelled.

"While you do that- maybe I'll capture another slice!" Fake Iroh then proceeded to eat the cake on stage.

"You sicken me."

"They make me look totally stiff and humorless!" Zuko pouted.

"Total edge lord." I snorted.

Katara smirked. "Actually I think that actor is spot on."

Zuko turned to her in shock. "How can you say that?"

I laughed a bit, turning my attention back to the show. Fake Iroh approached Fake Zuko and said. "Let's forget the Avatar and get massages."

"How could you say that?!"

Real Zuko just shrunk into his cloak as Katara turned back to the show smugly, her point proven.

The play continued to go on- introducing Momo and Suki with bad jokes inbetween. I had convinced myself that this had to be partly true events despite my friends claims that- no- it did not happen that way. Fake Brenan then had been hanging out with them from fairly early on, joining on their travels all around the world until they reached the North Pole. That's where I come in.

They made me look identical to Brenan except I was so quiet that I wasn't even acting in half of the scenes, just standing there. "Sister!" Fake Brenan yelled to my actor. "It has been too long!"

"Dear brother, I've missing you so!" My actor started balling her eyes out also but hid id in Fake Brenan's shoulder. "I thought you must have left with our parents! To be lost forever! I have been searching for you for many season now!"

"No- I was gone long before then! I don't know where they are but we're together at long last!"

I scrunched up my nose. "They make it seem like we were a couple or something!"

"Let them believe what they want, it just means that at the time we were believable." Brenan shrugged- not taking his eyes off of the play. "I just don't like how quiet they made you."

"To be fair- she didn't talk much when we first met her." Sokka also shrugged.

"I didn't know you guys at the time." I pouted.

"You still don't really say much." Katara laughed.

"...yes I do."

"Look it's Yue!"

I rolled my eyes and looked back to the actors. The first act ended with Aang's victory in the North Pole and with a final crush to the little toy boats on the floor, the curtains closed and the actors left the stage for the intermission. '_Oh thank Notch! That was so bad! At least Toph seemed to be enjoying herself!'_

As we waited outside of the theater for the cast to finished preparing for act two, my multiple friends were brooding. "So far this intermission is the best part of the play."

Sokka angrily grabbed snacks from a bag he had bought. "Apparently the director think that I'm an idiot who tells bad jokes about meat all the time!"

Suki rolled her eyes. "Yeah- you tell bad jokes about plenty of other things."

"I know!"

"At least Sokka's actor kind of looks like you." Aang whined. "That woman playing the Avatar doesn't resemble me at all."

"I don't know Aang." I stole some food form Sokka. "You're faces are actually pretty similar to me- she's just wearing eye makeup."

"You're also more in touch with your feminine side than most guys." Toph smirked.

Aang groaned.

I patted his shoulder. "You'll grow out of it- just wait. A lot of female actors are paid to play the part of boys your age. It's not so bad."

"Brittany, you're character has the least amount of lines out of all of us- there's not enough for any personality to be seen so she can't mess up being you."

"Relax Aang- they're not accurate portrayal." Katara smiled. "We all know Brittany's more outgoing and Brenan isn't as much of a follower as they showed. It's not like I'm some preachy crybaby who can't resist giving overly emotional speeches about hope all the time either."

"Well…" Brenan looked away from her. "... when you put it that way…"

No one else said anything.

"What?"

"Yeah- that's not you at all." Aang sat back down, his back facing us.

"I thought the person who played Suki was cool." I said- trying to break the forming tension. "Thank you Brittany!"

"Listen friends-" Toph grinned. "-it's obvious that the playwright did his research. I know it must hurt but what you're seeing up there on that stage is the truth."

"Do we go back now?" I stood up from the stairs. "How long do intermissions usually last?"

Zuko sighed and stood up also. "Soon- we should go back before someone else takes our seats."

Brenan and I shared a look before running back into the theater and plopping ourselves back into our old seats. The others came trickling in later and play started once more.

"We finally made it to the Earth Kingdom!" Fake Katara said. Fake Aang took out a small parasol that I think meant to be his glider and lifted up into the air and around the stadium before coming back to the stage. "I flew all over town but I couldn't find a single earthbending master!"

"This is it!" Toph grinned. "This must be where I come in!"

"You can't find an earthbending master in the sky!" Toph's actor came up from the ground- holding a giant rock prop. "You have to look underground."

We laughed as a group since the person who portrayed Toph was a muscular man with the deepest voice on the planet- like my god.

Fake Toph spat on the stage. "My name's Toph because it sounds like tough! And that's just what I am!"

Toph blinked and pulled away from the railing. "Wait a minute… I sound like a guy. A really buff guy…"

I nodded. "He is- he's huge!"

"Well Toph, what you hear up there is the truth." Katara slid closer to her, her voice laced in smugness. "It hurts doesn't it?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Toph grinned, much to the older girl's surprise. "I wouldn't have it any other way! At least it's not a giant bald lady!"

Aang frowned and visibly bit his tongue to keep from saying anything.

Fake Aang kept talking on stage. "So… you're blind?"

"Haha! I can see you doing that!" Fake Toph poked Fake Aang's forehead. "I can see everything that you see except I don't see like you do. I release a sonic wave from my mouth- AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! There. Got a pretty good look at you."

The people clapped as the scene changed again. We were back to Iroh and Prince Zuko.

"Prince Zuko, it's time we had a talk… about your hair! It's gone too far!"

"Maybe it's best if we-" Dramatic hair toss. "-split up."

I started to snicker uncontrollably despite my efforts to keep it down. Zuko turned around to glare at me, clearly not amused by my laughter. "What's so funny? Why are you laughing?"

I killed some of my giggles as I leaned forward so that I wouldn't be too loud, deepening my voice in the process. "I am Prince Zuko, watch as I make my dramatic exit with my fabulous hair flip!"

Katara snorted and quickly covered her mouth to prevent the others from seeing her smile. Zuko rolled his eyes and pushed me away gently with his finger on my forehead- not commenting on my increased giggles. I could have sworn he smiled also. But if you were to ask him- it was just the lighting.

The play changed again to the abandoned town Azula nearly burnt down when she was also chasing us. "Azula, my sister! What are doing here?"

"You caught me." Fake Azula smirked. "Wait! What's that? I think it's your honor!"

"WHERE?!" All the actors looked around as Fake Azula escaped through a hidden door on stage. "She escaped but how?"

"Maybe she jumped the wall you weirdos- it's not like she can get far." I mumbled- making Brenan snort as well. "Shut up Brittany- you know we were all actually there."

"Make me."

The play itself was actually impressively long, it even contained the drill incident at Ba Sing Se and the unknown fate of what actually happened ot Jet in the end.

"Did Jet just die?" Zuko blinked, as the actor crawled under the rock that was meant to crush him.

"It was pretty unclear."

Fast forward a few scenes and it was when Brenan and I were trapped in the catacombs of Ba Sing Se with Zuko. My actor looked at the Fake Prince and said. "You know, I've always found you pretty attractive Zuko but you know who_ really_ likes you? Katara. You're all she talks about."

"That did not happen." I spat. "This guy went too far on the script."

Real Katara looked momentarily relieved but scooted further away from the boy next to her.

Real Zuko also moved away from her and made it a point to not look in Brenan's or my direction.

"You don't have to make fun of me!" Fake Zuko growled.

"Yeah you should stay away from her!" Brenan's actor shoved Zuko's actor away from my actor. "Katara deserves better than you anyway!"

"But you can't deny a girl what her heart wants Brenan." My actor said. "Doesn't Katara deserve to be happy?"

"Oh my Notch!" I groaned and put my head in my hands. "Maybe we should just say what actually happened."

"But I thought she was the Avatar's girl." The play carried on despite my wishes.

Fake Brenan rolled his eyes. "The Avatar? He's like everyone's little brother. As if Katara would see him in any romantic way!"

'_Oh poor Aang.'_ I bit my lip. '_This must be hard to hear since you're crushing on her.'_

Aang suddenly stood up and walked away from the group. Sokka tried telling they boy to grab some more snacks but I don't think Aang actually heard him. One cool thing about this play is that while the battle of Ba Sing Se was happening, they added in black light so that Aang's actor would look like she was glowing. She went up into the air and was likewise shot down by Azula even if the lightning was just a blue ribbon. The actors then surrounded the one on the ground as Fake Azula proclaimed. "The Avatar is no more!"

While the curtains closed and the audience cheered, our group winced, cringed, face palmed and stuck our tongue out at the production that had many things wrong. We made it out of the auditorium and chose a different place to hang out for the time being. Suki shook her head good naturedly as we all took up a spot on the wall. "Wow- it seems like everytime you guys get into a fight you barely make it out alive. I mean you guys lose a lot."

"And who's the one who got captured by Azula?" Sokka rolled his eyes. "That's right- you."

She frowned. "Are you trying to get on my bad side?"

"I'm just saying…"

"She has a point though." Brenan tugged his hood over his face, covering himself up to his nose. "I wouldn't say we lose a lot but we definitely don't win a lot."

"Does anyone remember that we're just kids? We're pretty skilled for barely being teenagers if I say so myself." I rolled my own eyes. "We have to give ourselves a little more credit. We can take down people who have _years_ of training on us. That fact that we're not completely crushed by the opposing side is amazing."

"Has anyone seen Aang?" Katara interrupted.

Sokka pouted. "He went to get me fire gummies like ten minutes ago and I'm still waiting!"

She ignored his last comment and continued to search. "I'm gonna check outside."

"I'll come with you." Brenan stood up and chased after her as she made her way out of the building. The rest of us waited by the wall and watched as a kid in an Aang costume ran past pretending to fly.

"Suki! What are the chances you can get me backstage?" Sokka suddenly beamed. "I've got some jokes I wanna give to actor me."

The girl suddenly got off of the wall and turned to face the boy head on. "I'm an elite warrior who's trained for many years in the art of stealth… I think I can get you backstage!"

"Geeze everyone is getting so upset about their characters." Toph rolled her eyes as the couple went away, leaving only the three of us left. "Even you seem more down than usual Zuko and that's saying something."

"I'm ok with mine." I shrugged. "She doesn't do much but it's hard to be wrong if you're not doing anything… She's kind of forgettable actually." '_What if I'm unforgettable too..?'_

"You don't get it Toph." Zuko frowned. "It's different for you. You get a muscled version of yourself taking down ten bad guys at once and making sassy remarks."

"Yeah- that's pretty great."

"But for me- it takes all the mistakes I've made in my life and shoves them back in my face." I pulled my knees closer to me chest, slightly mimicking Zuko's position as he kept talking. "My uncle had always been on my side even when things were bad. He was there for me- he taught me so much- and how do I repay him? With a knife in his back! It's my greatest regret… and I may never get to redeem myself."

I gently patted his shoulder, not sure how else to make him feel better.

"You have redeemed yourself to your uncle." Toph sat down against the wall at last. "You don't realize it but you already have."

"How do you know?"

"Because I once had a long conversation with the guy and all he would talk about was you."

Zuko finally smiled and flipped his hood off. "Really?"

I leaned over Zuko to get a closer look at Toph, putting my hands on his shoulder and knee respectfully. "When did this happen Toph?"

"It was before we reached Ba Sing Se." She said. "Back when Azula was chasing us by train and Appa's shed was giving us away."

"Oh- I remember that." I leaned away giving Zuko's face more space to breath.

"So yeah- you're uncle only talked about you and it was kind of annoying."

"Oh- sorry."

"But it was also really sweet. All your uncle wanted was for you to find your own path and see the light. Now you're here with us… he'd be proud." Toph sat still for a few seconds before punching Zuko's shoulder.

"OW! What was that for?"

"It's how she shows affection." I chuckled- remembering time and time again the small bruises she left behind, knowing it was because she just hit a _little _too hard but her heart was always in the right place.

"Giggles is right."

"You're Zuko costume is pretty good!" The Aang boy from earlier ran around the corner again. "But your scar's on the wrong side."

"The scar's not on the wrong side!" Zuko yelled after him as he ran away- angrily pulling his hood back up and over his head.

I snorted and patted his shoulder again. "Sorry- I don't mean to laugh. I would probably get the same treatment if my hair was showing."

"Why don't you put it down?" Toph tilted her head. "If it is the same treatment as Zuko then they won't actually think it's you."

"My hair is actually pretty different from the actors… it's more like a pastel pink. If I could change it, I'll pick the pink they're using." I grinned. "It's my favorite color anyway."

"I don't know how colors work you know." Toph rolled her eyes half heartedly.

"My hair right now it pretty soft but I want my hair so pink it'll hurt your eyes if you could see."

"If you could change your hair- you'd keep it pink? Why?" Zuko tilted his head in question.

I sat up a little straighter. "I'm starting to realize that I'm weird… like really weird, compared to everyone around me. No one can do what I do… or at least not all of it at once like I can. Toph once said that my hair made me different so people would think I'm different anyway. But my hair right now still connects me to Adam. It makes it easier for him to find me and ...in my heart he's still my brother but I don't want a connection any more. So I'll keep it pink, I'll just change what kind."

"But that's if you could?"

"That's if I could."

With higher spirits than before we all (except Aang) went back into the theater and watched the final act of the show. It covered what was dubbed- The Fire Nation Arc and our travels from the recent past weeks. Aang had just returned in time for the invasion to happen on stage. Sokka suddenly lost his mind when his actor said. "Hey Toph- would you say that you and Aang have a rocky relationship?"

The crowd also went wild. "Haha haha! I told him to say that!"

"I hope everybody's ready for the invasion- Slamapow!"

I blinked, processing the new information, as the crowds and Sokka laughed their heads off once more. "Wow… I guess people can find Sokka funny…"

"I thought you liked my jokes Brittany!" Whoops, he overheard me.

"I do. It's usually just been me though. I've never seen this kind of reaction before- you've been talking to the wrong crowd."

"That's what I've been saying."

The scenes changed on stage again. The whole group stood under one spot light as Fake Aang addressed the people. "We've finally made it to the Fire Nation Palace but no one's home!"

"Actually I'm home!" Fake Zuko walked towards them. "And I want to join you!"

The actors all pasied for a second before collectively shrugging. "I guess we have no choice. Come on!"

Then they all exited stage left.

"I guess that's it." Sokka shrugged. "The play's caught up to the present now."

"But no one's getting up Sokka." Brenan grabbed his sleeve. "I don't think it's over yet."

"But it's over… unless…. This is the future."

"Shush!" I whacked the older boy on the head. "Just keep watching and you'll find out!"

The stage then darkened as the actor who played Fire Lord Ozai stepped onto the throne in the middle of the stage. He said. "With the energy of that comet- no one will be able to stop the Fire Nation!"

"Father!" Fake Azula ran on stage, bowing before the actor. "Zuko and the Avatar are at the palace! They're trying to stop you!"

"You take care of Zuko! I shall face the Avatar- myself!" He characters then disappeared with a cloud of smoke leaving Fake Azula on stage for a second. Fake Zuko and Aang then jumped into the action but Fake Aang only stayed for a single second. "Aang! You find the Fire Lord! I'll hold her off!"

"You are no longer my brother!" Fake Azula yelled. "You are an enemy!"

"No! I am the rightful heir to the throne!"

"We'll see…"

Then the two of them started throwing their ribbons at each other to show that they were firebending. They were actually pretty well timed and agile but then Azula lifted her hand up- a cue for multiple fire effects to appear from the ground- and essentially burned Zuko to dust. The audience cheered as Zuko basically died, signalling Azula's win. The rest of us then looked cautiously at the actual boy next to us to see how he took it but he just kept staring ahead in shock.

More flame effects came up from the ground as Fake Aang walked back on stage. "So!" Fake Ozai called from the back- hidden in the shadows. "You have mastered all four elements?"

"Yeah! Now! You're going down!" Fake Aang pointed her staff at the man.

"No! It is you who are going down! You see you are too late." The Fake Fire Lord stood up and grinned maniacally. "The comet is already here and I'm unstoppable!"

The two of them then started fighting with their fire ribbons and their wind flags and also proved to be agile enough to dodge them. The Fake Avatar was suddenly swept up by a large sheet of fireffect and wrapped around in it- yelling as she went down to the floor, eventually quieting- signifying the Fire Lord's victory.

"It is over father!" Fake Azula walked back on stage. "We've done it!"

"Yes! We have done it! The dreams of my father and my father's father have been- REALIZED! The world! Is! Mine!"

The crowd cheered and the rest of the actors came out to have one last bow and to thank the civilians for coming out to see them and their performance.

We didn't even politely clap, we just got up and left without much ado about nothing, staying close to each other and huddling away from the theater.

Zuko was the first to speak once we were halfway back to the summer house. "That… wasn't a good play."

Aang groaned. "I'll say."

"No kidding. It was horrible."

"You said it."

"But the effects we decent." Sokka shrugged.

I nodded along.

"Actual bending would have been much cooler." Brenan frowned.

"And set fire to the stage? As if they would do that."

"Maybe they should."

"That sounds a bit violent."

I rolled my eyes at my friend's antics, holding my own retort back. I was just glad that they all got along enough to take gentle jabs at each other and to voice their slightly controversial opinions.

It** was a bad **play.

But these were some** good **people.

And good friends.

And you can take that from my cold dead hands.


	19. Sozin's Comet Part 1

The following week was spent resting. Even my daily training was more relaxed than usual. The only one who wouldn't dare rest was Aang and Zuko by transmitting all our energy to the boy as he practiced his firebending. Brenan copied him step for step but with the day of the comet coming closer- Aang couldn't afford to be off his game.  
"Sitting around the house has made us pretty lazy." Sokka said. I paused from my place in the doorway. '_What am I walking into?'_ "But I know just how to fix that. Beach Party!"

The whole group seemed to sit up a little straighter before collectively running toward the beach. Katara and I raced each other toward the water as our friends started their individual sand activities. Instantly, Katara bended the water to surf on it- freezing in under her as she passed over a wave to make an ice surfboard.

When I tried to do that I instantly wiped out. I came back to the surface laughing, signaling to Katara that I was fine when she asked. I looked back to the land to see Suki sunbathing and the rest of my friends competing in sand sculptures. Aang made a pretty impressive Appa- Toph made something on the ground but I couldn't quite see what- and Sokka made a giant lump of sand with a face on it. Truth be told I had no idea what it was and I was too for into the ocean to hear what Sokka called it. Without warning Zuko came out of the bushes- exploding Sokka's… thing… actually he blew up all of their sculptures as he chased Aang around the beach. Brenan actually fell from his glider in the process, mostly from shock if his face was anything to go by.

I sunk into the water, trying my best to catch him. Hm? Minecraftians can survive any fall if there's water under them you know- it still hurts like hell unfortunately, so I was trying to lessen the fall by bringing the water to him.

Katara actually made it to shore first, leaving the two of us behind and managed to catch up up with the other three (who also left us e=behind in favor of chasing Zuko and Aang).

Brenan was disgruntled when he broke the surface and saw our friends running away. "Part of me wants to be more mad than I actually am."

"I can see why." I sighed and bended myself to stand on the surface, pulling Brenan up with me in the process. "You wanna go after them?"

"Maybe- if only to yell at Zuko because of course he's bad again! I bet he planned this!"

"He planned it alright but I wouldn't call him bad. He can't take all of us on. Aang is also still the Avatar- what if it's training?" I bended the water off my brother, taking my sweet time on purpose.

"You have too much faith in him." Brenan frowned. I ignored the action. "I think you have too little faith in him. He's a national traitor- without us, where would he go?"

"I'm going to catch up." Brenan pulled out his glider again and took to the sky- leaving me behind as the last one still on the beach.

For some reason I couldn't understand, my heart felt strangely heavy- and I was suddenly very sad. I didn't want to dwell on it as much as I started to so I ran out of the water and became only vaguely more aware of the explosions coming from the house.

It took me a little longer than I anticipated to find my friends (considering that the explosions stopped) but luckily for me, they were still outside. The fighting seemed to have calmed down andI tagged on at the end of Katara's sentence. "-get any worse."

"You're wrong. It's about to get worse than you could ever imagine." Zuko shook his head. I stayed behind the wall so I wouldn't interrupt anything with my presence. "The day before the eclipse, my father asked me to attend an important war meeting. It was what I've dreamed about and wanted for so many years. My father had finally accepted me back. While I was there, they talked about how to bring the Earth Kingdom rebellions to ruin. They wanted to destroy their hope. When the comet comes- it'll grant every firebender with the power of a thousand suns. When the comets comes- they will burn the Earth Kingdom completely. I wanted to speak out against this horrifying plan but I'm ashamed to say I didn't. My whole life I've struggled to gain my father's love and acceptance but once I had it, I realized that I lost myself getting there. I'd forgotten who I was."

Katara fell slowly to her knees in shock. "I can't believe this."

I slowly sat down on the ground with my back to the wall facing my friends. Everyone else stood in shock processing this new information. Brenan stared at the prince in raw unadulterated anger but chose to keep silent. "I've alway known that the Fire Lord is a bad guy but…" Sokka pulled Suki closer to him. "...his plan is just pure evil."

"What am I gonna do?" Aang looked so defeated, my heart went out to him.

"I know you're scared." Zuko stood up and walked towards him. "And I know you're not ready to save the world. But if you don't defeat the Fire Lord before the comet comes- there won't be a world to save anymore."

"Why didn't you tell me about your dad's crazy plan soner?!" Aang shouted after another handful of seconds to process it.

"I didn't think I had to- I assumed you were still going to fight him before the comet. No one told me you decided to wait!"

"In Zuko's defence-" I spoke up- still feeling winded by the new information. "-I also thought that. Is that not what's happening? I feel like I missed out on something."

"The plan was for Aang to fight the Fire Lord after the comet because he's not ready." Brenan's grip on his glider turned his knuckles white. "But I guess we can't do that now."

"Aang. You don't have to do this alone." Katara stood up and walked toward the younger boy.

"Yeah if we all team up and fight the Fire Lord together- we got a shot at taking him down!" Toph ran up to stand next to Katara.

"Alright!" Sokka grinned. "Team Avatar is back! Air! Water! Earth! Fire! Fan and sword!"

Aang sigh tiredly but rolled his eyes good naturedly. "Fighting the Fire Lord is going to be the hardest thing we've ever down together. But I wouldn't want to do it any other way."

I grinned and launched myself at the boy, hugging him fiercely. The rest of the group joined almost immediately- laughing and giggling. I looked over some heads and saw Zuko awkwardly standing there. "Come here Zuko! You're a part of this group too! This means you have to join in group hugs!"

Zuko rolled his eyes but made his way over to us joining in between Toph and Suki. Without warning Appa flew towards us and landed on top of our little hug circle.

"Owwwwww- Appa whhhyyyyy?"

I smiled despite the crushing weight of Appa's chin on my stomach. "Because he's a part of this group too- that's why."

The beast in question growled in response. In my peripheral. Momo jumped on Sokka's head, joining us as well. "Good. Everyone's here."

"So is this a thing we're doing?" Brenan groaned. "Appa you're killing me here bud."

"I don't have much of a choice." Aang patted Appa on his chin and the bison got off of us. "I should keep training then huh?"

"You've got this Aang!" I called out- raising to mey feet.

He nodded in my direction and then walked off with Zuko. "Brenan- you too- I want you both to learn this next trick."

My grip widened as Brenan followed the other boys as a response. '_I wonder what they'll do.'_

"I'm going to go with them…" Katara nervously followed after the three boys. There wasn't much to do besides this so I told the remaining three kids that I would be going back to the beach. Toph's idea to practice her sandbending wasn't bad. With the message ro return by sundown clear in my mind, I tried to keep myself from bending the water instead.

As I found out soon enough- Toph and I have different styles to moving a gazillion of tiny rocks. It became a mixture of both water and earth bending for me. I'm not entirely sure about how Toph bends her sand but part of me felt like I was breaking some law of physics. I got bored after a while though and went back to the water for the remaining time till sundown.

I went to the meeting point as directed and stood next to the other kids as Sokka took the point. "Alright Team Avatar- gather around. In order to take out the Fire Lord- or in this case, the Melon Lord-" '_Oh, he made a scarecrow!'_ "- our timing has to be perfect. First Suki and I will draw his fire, then Zuko and Katara charge in with some liquidy hot offence on the left- Brenan and Brittany with the same attacks on the right. And while the Melon Lord is distracted- Aang swoops in and BAM! He delivers the final blow!"

"Uhhh…" Topg scratched her head. "What about me?"

"For now you're the Melon Lord's forces."

"So I get to chuck flaming rocks at all of you?!"

"I'm suddenly less confident in this exercise." Brenan glanced at Toph concernedly. I mirrored the action but looked at Sokka instead. '_We're not going to come out unscaved, are we?'_

Sokka merely shrugged, an easy going smile on his face. "Whatever makes the training more realistic."Sweetness." Topg grinned.

I sighed but bumped her shoulder. "Try to not enjoy it too much, alright?"

"I'll make no promises."

"Ok- let's go we're burning daylight."

As Toph got her ammo ready (with the help of Suki, who poured some oil on them and ilt the fires) the rest of us got into position a ways away from the starting point. Once Sokka and Suki took off running, Toph immediately blocked their way with stone soldiers and nearly squashed Sokka with a flaming boulder. Suki breezed through the terrain, knocking the fake baddies over and leaping over the flaming rock.

"Watch it Toph!"

"I'm not Toph! I'm Melon Lord! MWahahahahahaha!" '_She's definitely enjoying this'._ I cast a lost look to Brenan as we made a mad dash toward the Melon Lord.

**'I figured she would.'**

Without much warning, another flaming boulder stuck through the air- nearly crushing the both of us but by some break of logic- I caught it and swung it into the nearby walls. Brenan took out the surrounding stone soldiers with a single blast- added by his glider- swinging it over my head (as I ducked) causing to fly off in ever direction. We continued our trek forward.

"NOW AANG!"

From above us- Aang flew over head and poised himself ready to fight.

But the final blow never came.

"What are you waiting for?!" Zuko cried out. "Take him out!"

"...I can't."

Sokka frowned and marched right up to the boy saying. "What's wrong with you?! If this was the real deal- you'd be shocked full of lightning right now!"

"I'm sorry- but it just didn't feel right. I didn't feel like myself."

With straight face- Sokka took out his sword and at off Melon's Lord's head.

"There that's how it's done."

I gulped and took a step back. My action didn't go unnoticed by the group near me but my fear attention was on Sokka at the moment.

"Brittany? You ok?"

My heart started pounding and it was getting hard ot breath. My chest felt constricted and I suddenly couldn't think straight. Why was everyone standing so close to me? What's going on? I can't - I can't breath. "I gotta go!"

"Brittany!"

"Leave her!"

"NO- HEY- where are you going at least?!"

Sure, I heard them calling out to me but I kept running away from them. I needed space. I didn't know why but I couldn't stop crying and I eventually found myself back in the house but in an attic of sorts. I'm not even sure how I got there in the first place but as my mind clear and my panic disspersed, it was dark by the time I was found.

"Hey- are you ok?"

I blinked and forced myself to unravel from the ball I was in. "Katara? Is that you?"

"Yeah- it's me. Are you ok?"

I took a deep breath and looked inside myself. It was certainly easier to breath now and my chest no longer hurt. "I think so."

"What happened?"

"I don't know- I got really scared and I just had to leave… this hasn't happened before." I curled in on myself again- my for hitting a scroll in the process. "What's that?"

The older girl paused for a moment considering my face before picking it up and opening the papyrus. She smiled at it's contents. "I think it's baby Zuko."

"Yeah?" I took a breath. "Can I see?" I get on my knees and scooted over to her. It was a baby. And it did kind of look like Zuko- I could see the resemblance.

"Come on! Let's go show everyone else!"

"I think I'm going to stay up here a little longer." I smiled sheepishly. "Try to figure out what happened and stuff."

"Are you sure? Dinner's ready by the way- are you hungry?"

"A little… but I'll eat later."

"It'll be cold."

"I'm ok with that." I pushed myself against the wall. "Just make sure the boys don't eat it all… or Toph."

"Ok…" but I'm going to let everyone know you're here. You spooked us all a bit- we were starting to get worried. Last time you ran away, you came back pretty hurt."

I got a message.

I looked away. " 'm sorry."

"We'll be waiting for you, alright?" She placed a comforting hand on my shoulder before leaving the attic. I nodded at her question but it didn't feel right with me.

'_Was Aang really going to kill the Fire Lord? Why was Sokka so ready to do it? Are we actually going to be killing people? I don't want to do that! Killing people is bad… and I've tried so hard to not be bad! Adam said I don't have to be bad if I didn't want to…. Wait… Adam is coming! Oh Notch! I'm going to be taken away! Not when I'm so close to finding my family- I just know it. Am I going to be locked away again? Am I going to leave all my friends behind? I still have so many places I want to see- I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!"_

"Brittany?"

I jolted out of my thoughts and realized my knees and cheeks were soaking wet. I took another deep breath. "I'm ok- my friends are fine. Nothing is happening right now-"

"I brought you some food." Brenan placed the plate by ny hip as he took a seat next to me. "Katara said you wouldn't mind if it was cold but I reheated it for you."

_'At least one brother of mine isn't my enemy right now.'_ "I love you- you know that right?" I smiled and took the plate. It was darker now but I don't know how much time had passed.

"I know… why are you crying?"

"I'm scared.I don't want Aang to kill anyone. And Sokka was so willing to do it."

"Yeah it shocked me a little too. If it makes you feel a little better- Aang doesn't want to kill the Fire Lord either. He just stormed off just now that it was brought up. It got awkward then so I came to hide out with you."Brenan shrugged before scooting closer so our shoulders were touching."In the end- I don't want him to do it either. I told you he's been teaching me what the monks taught him, right?"

I nodded.

Yeah, so killing the Fire Lord goes against all he's ever known, right? I can't think of any other way to stop him."

"There was to be." I took a small bite of my food. It was better warm. "He'd be just a normal guy if he wasn't a bender."

"Aang wants to find a way to stop him from bending but is it possible?"

"Maybe." Another bite. "He's the Avatar- the master of bending- isn't that why he can bend all four elements? If anyone, it's him. The issue is- will he have enough time?

"Will he ever have enough time?" Brenan sighed.

"We have three days… and it could be the end of this world." Brenan continued. "I didn't think this would happen. I almost want to go home."

"I don't." I swallowed some more food- scraping the last of it into my mouth. "Why did the play show you all beat up when you first appeared? I know that this is your first place away from Minecraft but you never said-"

"I ran away from Skyler. She was hunting me."

"...oh."

"Almost got me too… if Seta didn't step in and teleport me away. I landed in the South Pole and stayed a day or two with Sokka's and Katara's Gran Gran before Aang came into the picture. Aang let me tag along after I told him I needed an airbending teacher."

"Not a lot of those back home, huh?"

"You have no idea- I had to sneeze out of a window every time because if I sneezed inside, thing would break."

"Yeah… I never had to deal with that. Maybe the unintentional freezing- but nothing that dramatic."

"We're in trouble, aren't we?"

"When are we not?"

"I'm serious Brittany." Brenan sighed again and curled up into a small ball- his elbow on his knee and his head in his head. "We haven't even talked about what to do about your brother."

"I was kind of hoping we won't."

"What are you going to do?"

I bit my lip and put my plate aside. It was empty now- I didn't think I'd eat all of it. "I don't know. It depends if I actually have to face him. He shoulder be here by now… looking for me."

"We could fight him." He shrugged. I looked at me feet. "I don't know if I'm capable of doing that. I don't want to hurt him."

"Sleep on it." Brenan patted my shoulder. "We're not there yet. Maybe we'll figure it out."

"Yeah…"

Well morning came and I still had no idea what I was going to do. Everyone was helping to load up Appa with what we had and was getting ready to leave.

But Aang was gone.

Instantly we all started to investigate the huge house. Of coarse no one actually found him- but he left his staff behind. "How strange…"

"Aang's not in the house- let's check the beach." Zuko lead the way for the seven of us.

The only clue was found were his footprints… which lead right into the ocean.

"So… he went for a midnight swim and never came back?" Suki tilted her head.

"What if he got captured?" Katara gulped.

"I don't think so."Sokka shook his head. "There's no sign of a struggle."

"Not to mention there's only one set of footprints. Brenan looked around. He was right. The only other footprints on the beach were ours.

Toph squated next to them, next to Sokka. "I bet he ran away again."

"I doubt that." Sokka put his hand on his hip. "He left behind his glider and Appa."

"Then what do you think what happened, o' sloothy one?"

"I think this might be another weird Avatar thing." I scratched my head. "Remember when we were "called" to the swamp? Could that have happened last night?"

"That's not a bad idea Brittany. Suki looked a little relieved. Sokka stood up. "It's obvious that Aang's on a spirit world journey!"

"Wouldn't his body still be here then?" Zuko deadpanned.

"No- that's not what I meant." I frowned. "When we were flying over the Earth Kingdom there was a very large swamp that Aang said was calling out to him like in a hypnotic trance. It's where Aang got the vision of when he was Toph to be his earthbending teacher. Something out in the ocean called out to him when he was sleepy or spazzed out and he went."

"I think Brittany is the new detective Sokka." Katara teased her brother, putting a hand on my shoulder in the process. "But just in case- I think we should look around the island. He might be back by now and just because he left this way doesn't mean he'll come back this way."

"I call going with Zuko!" Toph instantly attached herself to the Fire Nation Prince. The poor boy went a little pink in his face. We all stared at her though… it was quite… unexpected of her to do that. "What?" She said. "Everyone else went on a life changing field trip with Zuko. Now it's my turn!"

I waved my hand a bit. "I haven't either you know."

"It's my turn though, I called it."

Both my of hands went up. "Oh geeze… now what?"

"Suki and I can check in town." Katara offered.

"I'll take Appa and look around the beaches." Sokka turned on his head and ran back up the way we came to get the sky bison.

"Guess it's you and me Brittany." Brenan bumped his shoulder. "We'll look around the mere popular beaches. We have some scarves to cover up his arrow if he's there."

"Alright everybody- let's go."

When we split up, we gave each other an hour or two before we would group back at the house. Brenan and I had to check ourselves constantly that our hair wasn't showing but when we asked, no one saw anyone in an Avatar costume asleep (or wandering) on the beach. Before people started to question the coincidences- Brenan and I turned around and hoped someone found him.

They didn't.

"By the looks of your faces, I take it that you didn't find him." Sokka deadpanned when he landed.

"No… it's like he just vanished." Zuko pouted.

"Wait!" Toph sat up a little straighter. "Has anyone noticed that Momo is missing also?"

"OH NO!" Sokka fell to his knees. "I knew it was only a matter of time. APPA ATE MOMO!"

"Orrrr… Momo is with Aang." Brenan rolled his eyes, albeit good naturedly.

"That's just what Appa wants to to think!"

"Sokka get out of Appa's mouth before he actually eats you."

"We have a real problem here." Zuko barked. "Aang is nowhere to be found and the comet is only two days away."

"Do you have a plan Zuko?" I turned my head to look at him. "What should we do?"

He stood up. "I don't know…. Why are you all looking at me?"

"Well…" Katara shrugged. "You are kind of the expert on tracking Aang."

"That's true." Toph nodded along. "If anyone has experience tracking the Avatar, it's you."

"Shouldn't we wait a bit? What if he comes back?" I tilted my head. "If it's an Avatar thing, I'm sure Aang can handle it."

"Do you want to stay then?" Katara looked me in the square in the eye- almost challengingly. I shrunk a bit away from the subtle opposition to my idea- like I'll get in trouble if I say something that again but I had faith in Aang. '_He'd come back in time.'_ I couldn't meet Katara head on though. "Yes… just in case."

"Do you want me to stay also?" Brenan piped up. "Should I?"

"No- they might need more numbers." I shrugged. "No one knows we're here so it's not like I'll be attacked. It's just keeping an eyes out for Aang." '_-I'll send you a message if I see him.'_

A look of understanding crossed over his face and he nodded.

"We should head out then." Zuko walked down the stairs. "I have an idea but we need Appa."

He looked at me as everyone walked around him and I answered his unspoken question. "I'll be ok- honest."

"Say low- if we find him we'll be back."

"Yessir." I mock saluted.

As I saw my friends off, a message I had reserved earlier that day stared at me. It stuck out in my vision like a sore thumb- a message that was whispered to me, for only my eyes to read.

'Brittany- it's Adam. I knew you're here and I'll bring you home, don't worry. I don't know who took you or how you escaped but I'm glad you did. And I'm glad that you went somewhere familiar so it'll be easier to find you. I just reached the Fire Nation Palace. We'll be together soon- I promise.'

'_It's really come to this hasn't it.'_

I didn't reply.


	20. Sozin's Comet Part 2

Turns out spending the whole day by myself wasn't something I was comfortable with. My worries pulled in all sorts of directions. One side wanted to stay at the beach when Aang came back and the other wanted me to stay inside and stay low for when literally the rest of the group comes back.

I haven't even mentioned the boredom.

The rest of the day was spent trying to find something to do as the sun set and eventually rested for the day.

Nothing special happened.

Day two.

For breakfast, I ate the last of my rations ('_I should really restock'_) and scouted the beaches again before the people came out to do their jobs or hang out in the morning beaches.

No Aang.

No messages from -wait.

**'Brittany- we didn't find Aang but we found The White Lotus- which is a group of old guys who are bending masters. They're going to help us on the day of the comet but not with the Fire Lord- Zuko is gonna take his place and fight for the throne. Zuko wants me and you to go help him take Azula down. Everyone else is going to do all they can to take down the Fire Nation airships. Zuko and I are on our way right now to get you, then we head for the palace. General Iroh told em to say hi to the little Minecraft princess he knew with the pink hair too. I think he likes you as Zuko's friend. He seemed happy to know you were on our side.'**

I almost puked.

Not at the last bit. I've only met Zuko's uncle a handful of times but he seemed like a nice man. No. The worst part was that it was a public message. It wouldn't have mattered any other day. I was the only other Minecraftian who could access the chat.

Except I wasn't.

Not anymore.

Adam could read all of that.

Adam knew where I stood and whee I was going. '_I guess I'm taking the battle to you Adam.'_ I replied to the messages at last. Brenan might only assume it was a sideways comment I sometimes made. A reply to a person not really a part of the conversation but to show I was listening. I was right in the end- Brenan didn't comment on it but it wasn't a reply to Brenan.

'_It really is the day for our destinies, huh?'_ I had to make a conscious effort to not send that thought through the chat. Some thoughts have to stay thoughts.

As promised Zuko and Brenan picked me up from Ember Island and swiftly made way toward the Fire Nation capital. "I hope you don't mind coming to take Azula down instead of the airships Brittany." Zuko looked away from the reigns and glanced at me. "You didn't get much of a choice but since you were still in the Fire Nation anyway it would have been faster-"

"It's ok." I cut him off. I managed a small grin that didn't reach my eyes as I tried to joke. "I can finally get back at her for all the times she bullied me."

"You ok?" Brenan pulled me aside and studied my face. "You don't look so good."

"...You told Adam I'd be at the palace." I looked away. "I'm warning you both he might be there as well."

"What do you mean?"

"You sent that message to me publicly but Adam is here- I knew it. He read it. But he's probably by himself- others would have been filling up the chat by now." Brenan sobered up a little. "Or they're keeping quiet."

"That too."

"But I can't send private messages." Brenan sat up on his knees. "I'm not a fully fledged-"

"I know. I'm not either. But it's what happened."

"Are you telling me we have to fight Adam?" Zuko groaned. "What is going on?"

"Zuko you should only focus on Azula." I said. I'll deal with Adam- he's my brother. This is a long time coming."

"How long?"

"I ran away nearly a year and a half ago, you know." I looked out and over to the passing scenery below us. "A while."

"Are you going to be ok?" Brenan bit hi lip.

"I'm going to have to be."

"Well I'm with you." He took my head. "No one here is alone, ok? It's three against two. We got this!"'

"When we fight- one of us will be alone and the other will have an aid." Zuko said- not giving away his true emotion. "You realize that, right?"

"Well… we'll see. We'll find out when it happens." Brenaan frowned and let me go. "What? Are you worried we won't be able to stop your sister?"

"No, I'm not worried about Azula. I'm worried about Aang. What if he doesn't have the guts to take out my father? What if he loses?"

"Aang won't lose." Brenan crossed his arms. "He's gonna come back. He has to."

Zuko didn't reply.

I turned my attention to the sky.

The comet was closer now. You could see the trail its speed was forcing onto the atmosphere. The sky was a wonderful orange and red. Dare I say- it looked beautiful.

It was a shame the Fire Lord wants to kill everyone with it.

Really- it was.

"We're close." I said- my voice barely above a whisper. "We've reached the final countdown."

Zuko finally looked back again. "Are you scared?"

I took a deep breath. '_This could be the last time I see any of them… and I'll never see Sensei or Misako or the ninja or Nya again like I promised.'_ "...A little"

"Are you panicking?"

Another internal search." No- I'm not panicking."

"Good."

Another handful of silence.

"We're here."

Appa roared in response.

In the palace courtyard there was only a clear select few and what appeared to be Azula, taking the crown. Zuko landed Appa and stood up- staring his sister down. "Sorry but you're not going to become Fire Lord today."

He jumped down.

"I am."

Azula laughed. "You're hilarious."

"And you're going down." Brenan growled. We stood next to the Fire Lord to be- the rightful heir to the throne.

The man behind Azula tried to put the crown on her head again but she stopped him. "Wait- you want to be Fire Lord? Fine, let's settle this. Just you and me, brother. The showdown that was always meant to be. Agni Kai!"

"You're on."

We turned to Zuko in shock. "What are you doing?" I whispered. "She's playing you- she knows she can't take all of us on so she's trying to seperate us."

"I know."He said. "But I can take her this time."

"Oh and for your friends dear Zuzu!" Azual grinned. "They have a visitor! They can watch on the side lines as one happy family again while we duel! King Sky of Minecraftia has come to retrieve his sister at long last- how touching."

As if on cue he emerged from the shadows. '_He;s eighteen now- isn't he?'_ He looked in charge- for a lack of a better term. He really grew into his grey patched uniform he chose for himself. His maroon gloves and shoes accented it and in the middle of the chest was the golden amulet. It's purple enter glowed as it should have. I didn't know they retrieved it after all this time. It was supposed to be on the crown of the king but Adam was never one for headwear.

"Thank you for letting me retrieve my sister, Fire Lord Azula. I'll take the boy- I'm sure his sister misses him dearly as well." He said. His voice stoney and foreign. '_When was the last time I actually heard his voice? It got deeper.'_ He finally turned to me and smiled.

I didn't like it.

"Why are you over there? Come say hi! I'm so glad you're ok! Everyone was in a fit after we found you left." He made his way over. "Oh hey- you cut your hair?... It looked good. Everybody will love it. We can go home and pretend none of this ever happened. I'm so sorry it took me this long. I know you were smart- coming back to the place where I could finally find you!"

'_He means it, doesn't it?'_ I teared up and took a small stop closer to Zuko. He froze. "Why? What's wrong? You shouldn't be near that boy Brittany- he's a traitor."

"He's the rightful heir to the throne Adam!" I yelled. "I'm staying here on this side."

"What did they tell you Brittany?" He sighed. "You're too young to understand all of this. Just come with me and we'll be together again."

"You're not taking my sister away from me." Brenan growled. He immediately snapped to Brenan. "She's not your sister- she's mine! None of is belong here! You especially." Adam glared at the boy. "We're all going to go back to minecraft and you're going to go home and security will have to be expanded again."

"I'm not going to do it!" I yelled at him. "I don't want to fight you but I will."

He froze and stared at me. "You don't mean that.."

"I do- I had a lot of time to think about it."

His frown deepened. "You don't know what you're talking about. You're coming with me and that's final!"

"What a shame- isn't it Zuzu?" Azula voice rang in the background. "It really is a shame that siblings can't get along-" She suddenly blasted the fire over our heads. "- are we dueling or what?"

"Watch it!" Adam glared over his sunglasses.

"We are."Zuko nodded and took a step forward.

"Dude- even you admitted to your uncle that you would need help with Azula." Brenan grabbed his arm.

"I did but something off. She's slipping. If I do this no one else has to get hurt."

"You three are free to stay." The princess' voice called out. "You can be the audience to both my victory and my coronation."

"We would love to, Fire Lord Azula." Sky turned to us. "We thank you for your generosity."

I pulled Brenan away from the reach of the older bot. "We're on Zuko's side."

Together we both ran to the other side of the courtyard and kept a watchful eye on both Azula and Adam. My once brother didn't follow but pinched the bridge of his nose as if he had a headache. I frowned. "I bet he's trying to humor us before we're never seen again."

A drum sounded in the distance.

Both fire royals stood up from their spots on the ground.

Azula took off her cloak and grinned sinisterly. "Too bad it has to end this way brother!"

Zuko frowned. "No, you're not."

A pause.

Then Azula and Zuko simultaneously blasted fire at each other. It came together as a wave of blue and red flame. When it clashed, it had nowhere to go but upwards and it reached higher than the building itself. I could have sworn the heat made the scar on my shoulder unbearable.

When the flames cleared-Azula immediately took the offence, her blue flame lighting up the arena. The glow gave way to Adam's shadow- clueing me in that he was inching closer. I moved in kind.

Zuko fought Azula inch for inch- their flames pairing out into the city around us. If the fire got too close or too hot, Brenan would bend a bubble around us, not letting the damage get to us.

I lost track of Adam.

With every blow Azula launched, Zuko would either block it or disperse it. It seemed like he never truly aimed for her but Azula's attacks got more frantic and drastic.

She really was slipping.

It took no time at all for Azula to more from her spot and bring the fight closer to Zuko. She flew close to the ground, a wave of blue fire behind us Zuko hit behind her. She circled around him but he dropped to the ground, bending with his feet and break danced Azula to the other side of the court.

She hit her back hard and skidded for awhile.

Azula stood up.

"No lighting today?!" Zuko barked- sarcastically. "What's the matter?! Afraid I'll redirect it?!"

"No- don't taunt her!" I whispered yelled. Overconfidence leads to one's own fall, don't you know?

"I'll show you lighting!" Azula growled. At once she started collecting the static in the air as Zuko steadied himself.

Brenan and I watched as she posed to strike her brother.

Her eyes shifted.

Come close to touching me.

Toward us.

My heart sank and I froze on the spot. Brenan reacted quicker than me and airbended me far enough away where the lighting couldn't even come close to touching me.

To my horror- Brenan took the lighting full force- screaming in pain as the energy soared through his system. It was too much for him to handle and while he tried to redirect it as Zuko taught him, the lighting went in a random direction.

Adam was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

A bad situation turned worse when the current King of Minecraftia fell over instantly- curling in on himself, twitching occasionally as the last of the electricity left his body and groaned.

I stared at my older brother- not fully processing my shock. Brenan fell over a few seconds after Adam did- his system not used to the raw power he temporarily possessed. He was breathing heavily and his face was screwed shut from either pain or fear- or both.

I'm not even sure he knew what he did.

Seeing the strange turn of events Azula started laughing maniacally and turned around- going full circle- looking at all of our faces. She laughed harder and screeched. "HOW'S THAT FOR LIGHTING?!"

That shook me out of my stuper.

"...you're crazy…"

"And you'll never be beautiful!" She yelled back. I didn't even have the time to feel shocked before her attack was cut off from Zuko's flame. He growled at her. "Are we bending the rules now?"

"Is this really the time for puns?" I stood up shakily and ran over to Brenan, kneeling next to the boy and pulling out my water resources.

Zuko did a fantastic job at keeping Azula at bay for a solid three more minutes as I tried my hardest to stabilize Brenan with my water healing. His face was no longer contorted in pain but his eyes refused to open.

He's unconscious.

The flames grew closer in our direction- in my families direction- and Zuko couldn't keep them at bay for long- not when Azula spent all her renewed anger in trying to incinerate her only brother.

I pulled Brenan away.

I earthbended a covering for the boy- shielding him from the blasts and heat in the best way available right now.

No time for healing potions.

I ran toward Adam.

Zuko yelled behind me.

I couldn't even get close to him before Azula shut at me- nearly taking off the last of my hair with it. I ran away- dodging as best as I could- pulling up covers from the floor when needed. Azula continued firing her lighting at me.

"I'd really rather our family physician look after our royal guest if you wouldn't mind!" She launched another barray of attacks- not really caring how dangerous this was… although I suppose that was the point.

I ran for cover by the nearby pillars- the scorching heat grazing my biceps.I pulled out a Fire Resistance potion once the heat left. I doubted that it worked against lightning but I took a few swigs of it anyway. I was always told that I would need to drink all of it for it to work but splash potions only needed to be thrown at one's feet. I threw the rest of it on my body and prayed that it would be effective.

"Zuzu- you don't look so good!"

I chanced a look behind me.

Adam was on the ground on the sidelines. A pile of stones lay over a large slanted tile- that's where Brenan was. And Zuko lay on the ground in the middle of the courtyard.

He wasn;t moving.

Azula shot at me again.

I ran for another pillar.

I was angry.

How dare she? How dare she do this and hurt innocent people? '_Screw the fire- I got this liquid armor on. I can't get hurt right now. She can't touch me.' _I bended the water from the nearby troph and threw it ll toward the rooftop she was on.

She came from behind me.

I took more water from the troph and froze it. Using the momentum to propel me further with Azula on my heels. I changed directions swiftly when I felt the heat build up behind me.

My trail melted.

Using the rest of the water I gathered- I fled under the other building. The ice ended before I could steady myself and I crashed on top of a metal grate. My vision momentarily flashed red- signifying that I took damage. One heart was gone. I didn't even bother noting the other fireball I dodged.

There was water underneath me now.

Lots of it.

I looked up and saw a loose chain hanging from a nearby pilar. My previous words echoed back to me.

'_Without bending- he's just a normal guy.'_

Azula would burn through rope so the chain was the best object to be graciously handed to me by somebody who loved my existence.

I maed a dash for it.

I took the chain off as fast and as quietly as I could- gathering it easily into my inventory- pulling both ends outward for accessibility.

"There you are, you snot nosed brat!" The threat growled.

I turned on my heel- catching Azula limp toward me.

I stayed on my side on the grate.

As she neared- her stance grew less crazed and more determined. I'm not sure what she had planned for the ten year old child in front of her but I wasn't about to cross murder off of my metal list.

'_I can freeze her in place to get the chains around her- I just need her over the grate.'_

I shot my reserve at her.

As expected, she dodged it and fully emerged herself over the metal plating. I pulled myself to the side, moving past her and bringing her attention onto me and not her feet.

She moved to bend more flame towards me face.

I panicked and pulled the water from below, freezing both of us inside.

In the corner of my eye I saw ten bubbles over my now nine hearts, one going away after two seconds and then another and another.

I had no time to lose.

I melted the water around me- ignoring Azula's moving eyes- and pulled the chain out. I wrapped it around her hand in front of me first and moved myself around her, being cautious to not unfreeze her completely. I wrapped a portion of the chain around her other hand- bringing both of them behind her and pulled us both down to the grate.

Three bubbles left.

I tied the chain around a hatch of sorts and bended the water back under us.

The two of us paused to catch our breath after we nearly suffocated, no thanks to me.

I made the knot tighter around the grate, much to Azula's displeasure, just to make sure she couldn't break out of it as easily as I feared.

I ran towards Zuko.

He was fine- if only gaining consciousness once again. Otherwise, no damage.

I ran toward Adam.

He was breathing and alive but very much in pain. He also wasn't awake but that was fine- he didn't need to know thatI'm able to bend anyway. I did a once over his wound now that the electricity finally left his system and healed him while as Zuko sat up. "Brittany?"

I moved the water over and carefully placed the healing liquid on a spot behind his head. "I'm alive."

"Where's Azula? How long was I out?" He groaned and looked around.

"You were only out for two minutes at least. Thank you for letting me take care of Brenan." I bended the water away- making sure he was dry. "Azula is over there."

"How is he?"

I wasn't sure which 'he' he meant but it was the same case either way. "Also unconscious- I don't think Minecraftians take to being electrocuted well." I allowed myself to smile a little even if I wasn't trying to joke around. "Both of them were alive."

"Good."

"Nooooo!" Azula cried before firebending out of her mouth repeatedly- throwing herself on the ground- trying to move but couldn't. Neither of us said anything.

It was more pitiful to see her destroyed by herself in the end then to go out with dignity like we planned. Don't get me wrong- she still wasn't a good person.

But she was still a person- a kid. She was, what? Fourteen?

And this was just sad.

I tugged on Zuko's shirt. "I can only do so much- Brenan and Adam need medical attention. Can you do something please? Azula said something about a royal physician or something?"

It seemed to bring him out his stuper. "Right… I'll go get them…"

I nodded and watched the older boy ran away. Adam still wasn't responsive and Brenan had to be dug out of the debris- still unfit to touch by human hands. He groaned. "Are we dead?"

My breath caught in my throat. "No…" I hugged him close- not paying attention to his potential injuries. "I'm so glad you're ok."

"Where's Zuko?"

"He went to go get some doctors." I rubbed my eyes. "We're gonna go get you looked at. Make sure you're ok and all that jazz."

He nodded before laying back down. "Zuko… isn't so bad. He's good- he's a good guy."I laughed. "... I know."

I talked to him a little longer- keeping him as awake as I could. Zuko came back with a team of people. Half of them went to go pick up Adam and bring him inside. The rest of the crew split into two groups- one that took Brenan to the medical wing and the other to take Azula away.

Zuko walked over to me. "You ok?"

I nodded. "We won."

"Here. We won here… we still don't know if Aang succeeded."

"I don't think we'd have to wait for long." I smiled and hugged him. "We did go, right?"

"We did great." Zuko smiled. "Come on- I know you said you were fine but I'll feel a lot better if you were looked at."

I sighed but went along with it good naturedly anyway. I had three bruised ribs and my shirt actually got burned again, so I needed a new one. Zuko also actually had a concussion, even if he didn't show it and Brenan was bed ridden for four days but we were fine. We were alive. Adam still didn't wake up though. Brenan and I theorized that he only woke up before eAdam because he redirected the lightning. Maybe with time he'll get better at controlling it but for now- no sudden movements- and definitely no bending.

He hated it.

Our friends came back to the Fire Nation and visited us in the palace. Sokka had broken his leg and Katara had a cut on her arm but the other three of them were fine.

Aang had won.

It was over.

We stayed in the palace- greeting everyone who participated in the war the war prisoners from the failed invasion. It was great to see. Earth Kingdom citizens- Water Tribe people and Fire Nation citizens all in one place- not fighting each other. Brenan and I stayed closer to the sidelines just watching it all. They all came to watch Zuko be coronated as the new Fire Lord.

When the time came, his closest allies, stood in the front lines and the citizens stood behind us in four columns. We watched as the elders rang a gong repeatedly as Zuko walked out into the open. We cheered for him.

"Please-" He said, raising his hand. "-the real hero… is the Avatar."

Aang then walked up also, dressed in what I had to assume was traditional monk attire. We cheered even louder.

Once we quieted down, Zuko began to address the people again. "Today this war is finally over! I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation and I will. The road ahead of us is a challenge- a hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided! But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right path and begin a new era of love and peace."

The prince then knelt to the ground and an old man came to crown him.

"All heil Fire Lord Zuko!"

We clapped and cheered as he stood back up, brining Aang to stand next to him. It was a historic day indeed.

As per Zuko's request, we went to find his uncle in Ba Sing Se when the atmosphere cleared and we were free to go wherever we wanted again.

The streets were filled with smiles and laughing children and game where people could earthbend to their hearts desire. The White Lotus freed to city as they promised.

We didn't do much except enjoy the peace in each other's company- not just the world's.

Zuko walked around passing tea to each of us- standing with his uncle who was playing some brass instrument. Aang was entertaining Momo with his airbending, Toph was simply longing on a chair, Katara and sUki were simply chatting as Mei watched on. I watched Sokka try to draw the scene trying to keep my giggles to myself and Brenan rested on the floor as this all happened.

"Zuko stop moving!" Sokka suddenly yelled. "I'm trying to capture the moment! I wanted to do a painting.. So we'll always remember the good times together."

"That's very thoughtful of you Sokka." Katara walked over. I tried to warn her but she saw it too late. "Wait- why did you give me Momo's ears?"

"Those are your hair loopies."

I let a few chuckles loose.

Everyone walked over to check it out as a response. '_This is going to be hilarious!'_

"At least you don't look like a porcupine." Zuko frowned, pointing out the overly spiky hair Sokka gave him. "My hair is not that spiky."

"I look like a man."

"And did why did you paint me firebending?"

Sokka shrugged and looked at his girlfriend. "I thought it looked more exciting that way."

I grinned. "It's not so bad you guys- at least we can tell who's who."

Momo hopped on the table and chatted something Sokka took offence to. "Oh! You think you can do a better job Momo?"

Iroh came over and frowned. "Hey- my bellies not that big anymore! I've really trimmed down."

"Well I think you all looked perfect!" Toph grinned.

We laughed, because of course she would say that.

Aang walked out of the room followed by Katara as the sun set.

We quieted into a small lapse of silence before I took a deep breath- metalbending my nerves into steel. "I have a confession to make."

"What is it?"

"I'm leaving with Adam."

Brenan shot up from the ground, instantly regretting it. "OW! No- you can't! Oh Notch! That hurt!"

Zuko blinked. "Wait- why? I thought you didn't want to go back."

"I'm not going back. I only plan on going with them halfway. They called some people back home to take him back since he still hasn't woken up and… I feel like I owe it to him." I scratched my arm. "He came all this way for me and got hurt in the process- the least I can do is make sure he goes home safely. I'll leave halfway and continue looking for my parents."

Suki frowned. "When do you leave?"

"It's always better at night so they'll prepare a ship tomorrow and I'll leave with them."

"Tomorrow night?"

"Yes."

Brenan then walked up to me- looking me in the eyes. "You sure about this? Are you absolutely positive?"

I nodded and gave my brother a hug. "We'll see each other again- I promise… this is just something I feel like I have to do."

"You are very brave Princess." Iroh smiled at me.

I thanked him.

"Will we ever meet again?" Toph looked at me expectantly.

"I'll make sure of it Toph. I don't know how long I'll be gone but I don't want this to be the end of our adventures together ok?"

Suki gave me a hug. "Just take care of yourself, ok?"

"I will."

"You're always welcome in the Fire Nation." Zuko smiled. "You know where I'll be."

I hugged my oldest friend. "Take care of yourself, ok?"

"I will."

"Wait- King Sky is in the Fire Nation still, how are you going to get there?" Mai blinked in confusion.

"Aang already knows- he'll take me there."

Brenan still looked dejected. I smiled for him. "I'll miss all of you."

Sokka got out of his chair and hugged me. "You're really great. You'll grow up to do awesome things. Thank you for helping us."

"Thank you for everything Sokka." I grinned- ignoring the sting in my eyes. I then turned to Toph. "Thank you for teaching me what you could Toph!" I hugged her. "I'm glad I met you. I'm glad I met all of you, honestly."

"Don't get too sappy on us Giggles." She hugged me back. "Go kick some more butt. When you get back, I want you to show me all the earthbending skills you got, alright?"

"You got it."

Aang and Katara walked back into the moon. Brenan bit his lip. "Aang, are you really taking Brittany to the Fire Nation?"

"Yes… she just wants to see her brother off." Aang tilted his head. "Speaking of, are you almost ready to go?"

"Almost, but I'm going with him halfway." I smiled. "It's not just to see Adam off… I thought I told you."

"...oh…"

"Wait- you're leaving?" Katara blinked. "Wh- why?"

"I still want to find my parents Katara." I said. "I've got pink hair and we've traveled the world and became wanted fugitives for awhile… I think that would have caught their attention but I got nothing. They're not here so I want to try somewhere else. Adam is just my ticket elsewhere."

"Are you going to be ok by yourself?"

"I won't be alone for long." I smiled at her. "I'll come visit you guys when I get bored of searching." She ran up to me and enveloped me in a hug." Take care of yourself, ok? Eat three times a day and drink lots of water and sleep eight hours, ok, you hear me? Keep practicing your waterbending also-"

"Ok mom- I hear you." I laughed and hugged her back. I let her go after a while and turned to look at my friends. "You all take good care of Brenan while I'm gone, ok? He's going to need it."

"I'll.. be fine." He grumbled, turning into the color of his hair. "It's you I'm worried about."

"Don't be." I looked around. '_I've said my goodbyes…'_ "Ok Aang, I'm ready."

He nodded. "I'll be back by morning- let's go Brittany."

"Wait- one more thing!" Sokka shouted, pulling us all together. "One last group hug!"

I nearly cried.

"I love you guys."

"We love you to!"

"We'll always be friends, right?" I laughed.

"Forever and always."

Iroh ruffled my hair. "This world owes you a large debt for your help in ending the war- after this, I don't see how you can have any more problems here."

"Alright."

Aang grabbed my wrist. "We should go before it's pitch black outside."

I nodded and let him lead me to the door. I turned back and waved at the kids. "Bye! I'll be back before you know it!"

"Goodbye Brittany!"

"Take care!"

"We'll miss you!"

"Cause trouble Giggles!"

"Bye- bye!"

Getting on top of Appa suddenly felt sad and I think the sky bison knew it. The flight to the Fire Nation docks was sielnt. Even Momo kept quiet. When we landed, I could see various Minecraftians and Fire Nation citizens getting on and off the boat, loading it up throughout the night for the next day.

I hesitated.

"Brittany?"

"...Goodbye Appa." I turned on my heel and hugged the gentle giant. "You be good, ok? Give those guys some trouble from me, though, nothing too serious, you know the drill."

Appa roared and gave me a large lick-covering my whole body. "I love you too buddy."

Momo landed on my shoulder then, probably jealous of the attention and gave me very tiny licks on my cheek. "I'll miss you too Momo- you shouldn't cause any trouble, ok? Take care of everyone."

Aang smiled and hopped down from Appa's head. "This is it, huh?"

"I guess it is Aang… Thank you… for everything… and for taking care of Brenan." I scratched my neck out of nervousness. "I know you'll do great things from here on out."

He grinned and pulled me in for a hug. "Take care Brittany."

I pulled away from him and studied him a little closer. "Look at that Mr. Avatar." I laughed. "I think we're finally the same height."

"Really?" He rolled his eyes but seemed more amused than not.

"Goodbye Aang- seriously, I know you'll do awesome things."

He grinned- hopping back on top of Appa. "I'll head back to the others- have a safe trip!"

I waved him goodbye until I couldn't see him anymore and got on the boat.


	21. Continuing?

Hello to all you lovely readers!

I'm sure you're curious as to why there isn't a new chapter.

I'll tell you! This part has now ended and hopefully the next part will be posted soon and can be found on my authors page. If you're curious and wish to read the next part no matter the fandom it's now in. I suggest that you follow me! I, myself, don't really do this but it's an easy way to keep track of this particular story as it grows!

This will be a repeating note. I'll add it whenever a part is finished to that story so that new or following readers won't expect an update but never get one.


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